You've Got A Way
by constructivelycritical
Summary: Lily and James are entering their seventh year in school, and how typical for her to hate him, and for him to be absolutely mad about her. Yet James Potter always has a way, a way with words, actions, and overall with love. LJ
1. Uniting of the Head Boy and Head Girl

Hey people! I'm Pixie! This is my third fic posted on ff.net, second L/J fic. If you like this, please check out my other stories, and review for them too! I would be ever grateful. So here's the first chapter of You've Got a Way. R/R and enjoy!

  
  


You've Got a Way

by Pixie5252

  
  


Chapter One

Uniting of the Head Girl and Head Boy

She stepped out of her jet-black BMW Z9 Cabriolet and slammed the door, locking it behind her. Keys jangling in her hands, she headed up towards the pub, unseen by everyone else on the street except her. 

She pulled the door open, and entered into the pub, christened The Leaky Cauldron. Without a sideways glance to the various people inside, she headed straight for the back, pulled her wand out of the back pocket of her hip hugging jean skirt and tapped the bricks above the trash can.

Standing back, she made way for the arch to open her into the world of magic. She instantly grinned at the happenings in the alley.

Witches and wizards of all shapes and sizes bustled through the busy streets, each going a different direction, talking about different things. Some happily awaiting their chance to at last go to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, others groaning as they carried their new books down the cobbled street, already awaiting the arrival of their next summer. But this was the last year for Lily Evans, and she intended to enjoy every moment of it. 

She placed her keys and wand back into her back pocket, and continued down the cobbled street towards the shops and stalls of the magical town. She was interrupted, however, by an oh too familiar voice.

"Lily. Been meaning to talk to you." The voice said. Lily spun around on her heel to see Candace Daily. They were friends, of a sort, and they had shared a dormitory during the last six years of school. They were once best friends, but that was before their fight. 

"What do you want, Daily?" Lily replied in an impatient tone.

"Look, I'm sorry about everything that went on last year. I didn't mean for it to get that out of hand." She said. Her mahogany hair caught the sunlight, and her brown eyes were soft, with a sort of sincerity that Lily couldn't even overlook to be suspicious. "Let by-gone's be by-gone's?" Candace asked, holding her hand out to Lily.

"Consider them gone." Lily smiled, took her hand and shook it.

"Excellent. I knew you would never live without me, no matter what you said." Candace answered, her tan face splitting into a grin revealing straight white teeth and dimples that every girl would envy and admire. 

"I survived for seven months, you'll be amazed how much I lived without you. But it is you, however, who can't live without me." Lily joked in return, smiling back at Candace. 

"Oh," Candace said quickly, spotting someone over Lily's shoulder. "I'll catch up with you later." She turned and strode briskly down the cobbled street.

"OK, bye." Lily waved, as she felt a pair of arms seize her from behind, and kiss her fondly on the neck.

"Good to see you again, Lily." The voice said. Lily turned to face Remus Lupin, her boyfriend of a year and a half.

"And you." She answered, smiling affectionately at him. She flipped her long red hair behind her shoulder as she leaned in to kiss him. Their lips met momentarily before they broke, and set down the street hand-in-hand. 

"So, congratulations on Head Girl." Remus smiled fondly at his girlfriend, who flushed in excitement that he remembered.

"Thanks. I'm so excited for it. By the way, do you know who Head Boy is?" She asked, flipping her hair back again.

"I'm not sure you want to know." Remus answered truthfully.

"Oh come on, how bad could it be? I mean it's not like it could be James Potter or anything..." She laughed at her own joke, but she noticed Remus didn't join her. "What? It isn't him, is it?" She asked cautiously, fearing the answer.

"Yeah, it is." Remus answered gruffly. "Sorry to disappoint you." 

'James Potter?! Head Boy? What was Dumbledore thinking? He's a nuisance! A scandal! An arrogant, selfish, conceited boy!' Lily's mind flashed, and her almond shaped green eyes narrowed dangerously.

"No...no disappointment. Just a bit unnerving about who they're trusting with responsibility these days." Lily answered huffily.

"He's not that bad. He can be forced to behave....occasionally." Remus answered truthfully. Lily glared at him, flipping her long red hair again. He loved it when she did that, it nearly drove him mad, her thick red hair flying behind her shoulder, gleaming in the sunlight.

"Moony!" A voice emerged from Flourish and Blotts. It was Sirius Black, looking spiffily handsome with his black hair, hanging down, not too much, but just enough to cast a sexy look upon his fiery, gray eyes. 

"Padfoot!" Remus answered, a smile spreading across his face as he caught sight of his friend, one of the faithful four. 

"Evans." Sirius said, nodding to Lily stiffly. 

"Black." Lily responded, her voice lacking warmth.

"What's with all the hostility?" Another voice came. "It's so thick I could cut it with a knife." James Potter came behind Sirius, his jet black hair sticking up in the back, like always, and a smirk across his face as he caught sight of Lily. "Ah, Evans. I should've known." He walked over by Sirius's side, hazel eyes gleaming with excitement behind his round glasses, which were slightly crooked, sliding down the bridge of his nose.

"Lay off her, Prongs." Remus said quietly. Lily couldn't take her eyes off his crooked glasses.

"She always seemed to, what's the word for it, hate us." James said to Sirius, grinning.

"Yeah, but Moony never had problems getting her into bed." Sirius answered. James and Sirius roared with laughed at their own petty joke.

"He hasn't gotten me into bed." Lily snapped, her grip on Remus's hand tightening. 

"Ashamed, are you, to be dating Moony?" Sirius asked, laughing harder.

"Watch out then, Evans. He's about to plow you." James agreed, tears in his eyes from laughter, his glasses sliding down a bit more askew. He made no attempt to fix them.

"No one's going to plow anyone. Especially James Potter." Lily growled. "I've noticed you've been rather inactive lately. Or should I say the last six years?" 

"You've noticed then? Have you been waiting for me or something?" James asked with an air of cockiness. 

"Yes, I wait endless nights for great James Potter, hero of the Quidditch field, best in Defense Against the Dark Arts to finally give his heart to me." Lily said in an over-exaggerated, love stricken voice, eyes still fixated on his crooked glasses. 

"You forgot new Head Boy." James said taking the badge out of his pocket.

"Give me a break." Lily muttered rolling her eyes, turning to walk away. 

"She rolled her eyes at me." James said sounding sarcastically astonished. "Can you believe it Padfoot, Lily Evans actually rolled her eyes at me."

"Give it a rest." Lily muttered, annoyed.

"I'm so offended. I...I don't know how I'm going to show my face in public after being disgraced by Lily Evans!" James continued. Sirius barked out a laugh.

"Get over yourself." Lily snapped, spinning around to face him. His glasses were unimaginably crooked. She bit her lip to try and overlook them. "If you're going to be in their company for the rest of the day, I'll have to see you later, Remus. By the way, Potter. Fix your stupid glasses." Lily snapped, turning on her heel, hips swaying as she strode away.

"Thanks, real smooth of you guys." Remus answered, extremely annoyed at the childish antics of his friends. James pushed the bridge of his glasses, looking astonished at how out of hand they had become.

"Come on Moony! We were just having a bit of fun." Sirius laughed, clapping Remus on the back.

"You have to admit she's extremely sexy when she's mad. And that skirt! Ouch!" James hooted at the thought.

"I heard that, Potter." Lily called from somewhere in the crowd of people, her red hair standing out like a red tulip in a sea of yellow flowers.

Remus had to grin. He just couldn't help himself. He had to admit, he was one lucky guy. "Now there's the Moony we know." Sirius grinned. "Wormtail's meeting us at Floreans."

Remus nodded, watching Lily fade from sight before going with Sirius and James.

Anger coursed through Lily at the thought of James Potter, 'the arrogant little bastard.' She thought to herself. After six years of having to take his crap, she decided she no longer was going to take it from him. She just wasn't going to. She was sick of it. 

She took her school letter out, and quickly skimmed what she had to buy. She headed off towards Madam Malkin's to get some new robes. She entered the shop, which smelled strangely of rubbing alcohol, and walked to the back of the room trying to find assistance.

"Hey Lily! Lily! Over here!" A voice came from the corner.

"Alice! Hi!" Lily smiled walking over to her. "How are you?" 

"Fine." Alice smiled, her round face glowing. "I'm waiting for Frank."

"Frank Longbottom?" Came Madam Malkin's voice, who appeared from behind the counter. "Now he's a nice boy."

"Only the nicest." Alice beamed.

"Oh, how may I help you, dearest?" She asked.

"I just need some new robes for school."

"What house are you in?" 

"Gryffindor." Lily replied, drumming her fingers on the desk.

"Ah yes, just take a step onto that block, if you would."

  
  


Lily Evans...her enticing full lips, creamy complexion, and thick, dark red hair that shone in the sun...lust was the one word for it, James decided. It was simply lust that made him absolutely infatuated with her for the last six years.

'That's not being honest with yourself.' James admitted, yet only in his mind. Lily was phenomenal...beautiful, lusty, and amazing.

'Moony, you are one hell of a lucky guy.' James said to himself, rumpling the back of his hair to make it stick up more.


	2. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs

Sorry this took so long. I had a slight problem editing it, meaning I didn't have the attention span to sit down all at once and revise the chapter. Anyhow, I posted the other chapter in a hurry and I forgot about some things.

I do not own the idea of Hogwarts. Anything you recognize probably belongs to JK Rowling. Yet the one single solitary thing I own is my plot...so don't steal it! =D

Also, I forgot to say that one of my goals of this story is to make Lily and James a bit more....erm...mature then they were in my last L/J fic. So, those who read it, please tell me if I'm succeeding yet! Well, onto Chapter Two!  
  


* * *

Chapter Two 

Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs  
  


The four Marauders sat alone in the basement of Remus's empty house, his parents off on vacation until the end of the summer. Remus sat by himself, on the squishy, moth-eaten couch reading what looked like, "The Beginning of Magic, and How it Came to be What it is Now."

"Moony, you're such a prat." James yawned, stretched his arms up and leaned against the wall, despite the peeling yellow wallpaper.

"What?" Remus asked, looking up from his book.

"Oh nothing." Sirius answered. "Prongs is just complimenting your reading." Sirius barked a laugh.

Remus narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't to hurt to know where magic comes from. We've spent the last six years of our lives studying it so it's a very interesting read." He huffed and turned back to his reading, eyes still narrowed.

"I still can't get it!" Peter squeaked from the corner surrounded by all the homework he had put off until the last week of vacation.

"Wormtail, you idiot! It isn't the Vera Verto spell that turns a pig into a desk. That was back in the second year when we were turning animals into water goblets!" James laughed looking over Peter's Transfiguration homework. "What you're thinking of, is the Reprimando spell."

"Thanks." Peter squeaked, quill zooming over his homework trying to repair the damage he had already made.

"I think Wormtail needs a tutor." Sirius said, leaning on the bookcase, hair falling into his eyes.

"Not a bad idea." James answered, then paused as if seeing what Sirius has said in a different light. "Not bad at all. If, you know...but maybe...."

"What're you thinking, Prongs old buddy?" Sirius asked, his face splitting into a grin, his face full of excitement as if James was plotting an excellent adventure.

"Oh nothing, just...who to tutor other then Lily Evans? But, no. I'm better at Transfiguration then her, despite what she may think."

"James." Remus said looking up from his book. "This idea stops now. She's my girlfriend, if you don't remember."

"It's alright, Moony. I was just thinking of angering her a bit, just to see how sexy she could get." James laughed.

"No you weren't." Peter squeaked, abandoning his homework for the time being. His watery black eyes darted from James, to Sirius, to Remus in excitement.

"And if you were, you are losing your touch my friend." Remus answered, marking his spot in his book, and tossing it aside him onto the open space on the couch. It bounced once, and dust rose from where it had landed.

"You are one lucky guy." James answered, trying to sound jovial, but he silently pouted for the next twenty minutes, dropping his half plotted plan.  
  


James apparated home three hours later, now that he was of age and had passed the test, with flying colors, he would add to anyone who asked.

He walked up the stairs to his house, unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" A chorus of people shouted, Peter and Sirius included. Remus popped into the room, looked around for a moment, realized he was late and grinned apologetically.

"Whoa..." James grinned at the sight of all the people in the room. "Thanks guys...I...well of course you would remember." He grinned even broader, rumpling his hair to make it stick up more in the back. A live band that had been hired started blasting music from the corner, and people dispersed around the room, some to the refreshment table, others to the couch. 

James could just spot Sirius and a Ravenclaw sixth year slip into one of the bedrooms out of sight. He realized she had only come for Sirius and a feeling of being used dropped into his stomach, but disappeared quickly when Candace Daily approached him from the corner.

"Hey James." She smiled, tossing her mahogany hair behind her shoulder. 'Just like Lily does...' He thought to himself.

"Hi." James answered. "How's your summer been?" He asked, making light conversation.

"Oh...it was OK. I missed seeing you in Diagon Alley. I knew you must be there, since I saw Remus."

"Yeah, I was there. Shouldn't have missed you though." James grinned flirtatiously. She grinned, flashing her dazzling white smile, dimples on her cheeks. She looked so enticing. "Too beautiful to miss." He said, running a finger down her face. Her shirt was low cut, not enough to see everything, but enough to make him wonder. "Come get a drink with me." He smiled.

"OK." She answered, grinning. He took her hand in his and led her over to the table. Who was Lily to say he had been "inactive" for the last six years. He hadn't been inactive, he just wasn't as public about his relationships as say, Sirius?

Then again Sirius had a new girl each week, so it was a well known fact you couldn't count on being long term with him.

James picked up a glass for Candace, not really caring what it was, and handed it to her. 

"Thank you." She smiled. He grabbed one for himself, and took a deep sip. Punch...with an interesting taste. 'Must be Sirius, spiking the drinks again.' James thought to himself. He tossed his drink in the nearest wastebasket, and watched intently as Candace drank it all down. 

"Wow..." Candace gasped a half an hour later, her face slightly red. "It's really hot in here." She giggled.

"Yeah." James nodded nonchalantly. This would show Evans, he thought to himself. Getting her dorm mate...

"After the floor stops spinning, do you wanna do it?" She giggled insanely, then looked at James intently.

Just say no, do it. It's not that hard... A voice in his head told him. She's drunk. If you do it she'll slap you silly when she's back to normal.

"Wanna go outside instead?" James asked. She nodded, and he stood up from the couch, and lead her out. He lead her across the damp grass towards the cherry trees placed at the back of the lot. He could just make out her features through the darkness as they reached the private clump of trees. 

He took her hands, and pushed them up above her head and against one of the trees, pressing his lips to hers. He pushed her mouth open with his tongue and proceeded to explore every inch of it.

Candace giggled, and pulled away. "I'm kissing James Potter." She grinned with a drunk look across her face. She had four more glasses of punch after the first one, and James had watched her consume the spiked drinks with great entertainment.

"Yes you are." James answered, with a cocky air in his voice, before he began to kiss her again. He let go of her hands, and let his slip to her waist, then begin to roam up under her shirt.

"Prongs, Prongs, Prongs..." A voice laughed. James pulled away and spun around to see Sirius with his sixth year date for the night. 

"Damn it, Padfoot." James muttered under his breath. Candace giggled from behind him.

"Candace Daily, not bad. How many drinks did she have?" Sirius asked. His date giggled.

"Five, but she was so going for me before that." James answered, laughing a bit.

"Five? I put some strong stuff in there. Of course she wanted you, Prongs old friend. Who doesn't? Oh, other then Lily Evans."

"Lily Evans?" Candace asked, stumbling a bit. "We got in a fight last year, she hated me for a while."

Sirius barked a laugh at the sight of Candace, drunk as all get out. 

"Why were you fighting?" James asked intently. 

"I'm...not supposed to tell." She slurred. "But it is really funny." She began to giggle insanely again. Sirius raised his eyebrow at James.

"Solitary confinement, Prongs." Sirius muttered before striding away, hand on the sixth year girl's backside.

"What was it?" James asked again.

"I...I..." Her head rolled back, and she passed out, thumping against the dewy grass.

James sighed, and lifted her from the ground and carried her baby style back into the house. He sighed again as Lily floated into his mind. 'I can never have her.' He thought to himself. He carried her into one of the guest bedrooms and gently set her on the bed. He blew out the candles and left her alone to sleep. 

He walked down the hall and back into the living room where everyone was partying. 

"What happened to Candace?" Remus shouted over the music.

"She's totally wasted." James laughed. "Had too much spiked punch. Good old Padfoot's doing, of course." 

Remus laughed along with him. "A little fun never hurts!" He said, lifting a glass of punch to his lips, taking a long sip. "Tastes odd, but who cares!" He laughed insanely, as if he had just heard the best joke of the year.

"I think that's enough for you." James answered, grabbing the punch out of his hands and tossing it in the waste basket.

"What? Give it back!" Remus staggered after him, lost balance and fell flat on the ground.

"And Moony's wasted as shit." James said to himself. He strode over to the refreshment table, where Sirius was setting out a new batch of punch, his date sitting at the kitchen counter watching him intently. 

"Hey Padfoot. No more spiking the drinks."

"Why not?" Sirius asked, sticking out his lower lip.

"Moony's wasted, Candace passed out about an hour ago and Wormtail's probably got a hangover in the bathroom by now.

"One more batch and I'm done. Promise." Sirius bargained.

"Fine. Just keep it away from Wormtail if he comes in. His mum will flay me to the last inch of my life if she knew he was getting drunk on my turf."

"Relax, Prongs. Have some fun. It's your birthday for crying out loud." Sirius grinned, clapping James on the back. James slumped his shoulders down and stalked out of the room. He climbed the stairs to his bedroom, then slumped onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. 

"Prongs, what's the matter with you?" Sirius asked, coming into James' room.

"Nothing, just..." James stopped mid-sentence, knowing Sirius wouldn't understand.

"Relieve the burden." Sirius said, opening a shelf across the room and pulling a penseive out of it. He set it on the bed next to James.

"Same one as before." James answered, prodding it with his wand. A face rose into the shallow basin of swirling silver water. The face of Lily Evans. Her green eyes shone on her creamy complexion, her dark red hair contrasting beautifully with her features...

"Potter, I want nothing to do with you. Leave. Me. Alone." She said hatefully. The penseive began to swirl and her face appeared again, only a younger form of it. "Did it ever cross your mind that I hate you?" She yelled, tears in her eyes. "Leave me alone! I can't stand you!" 

James remembered that moment only too well. His stupidity had landed her in detention, for the first time in her life.

The penseive swirled again, and the youngest face appeared. It was the face of the eleven year old Lily. Her hair was worn short, and her face structure had not finished forming yet. Still her almond shaped green eyes shone like diamonds.

"I'm Lily Evans." The face said. "I'm really pleased to meet you. Thanks for everything." She said before she smiled rather fondly at him, then skipped away to meet Candace, which she had met ten minutes before then. 

"Ah, Prongs is feeling the painful stab of rejection." Sirius said, stowing the penseive back into the cabinet.

"More painful then ever."

"Just go for Candace. She'll have you." Sirius barked a laugh.

"Shut up." James answered, still staring at the ceiling. 

"Come on, you've never been this down before." He looked at his friend, so forlorn and sad. "Full moon first week of school." He grinned in an overly cheerful manner. 

"Yup." James sighed. 

"Come on, it's your birthday. Have some fun." 

"Another party in which Lily refused to come to, I'm guessing."

"I didn't invite her. You know, her and Moony. I thought it would be a bit depressing."

"Yeah, depressing." James sighed. "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep. I'll come revive to trashed people around dawn."

"Suit yourself. I've got a date waiting for me. And you would to if you weren't a love struck prat." Sirius muttered as an undertone.

A large pillow thumped him hard on the back of his head. "Ouch!" Sirius muttered, throwing it back at James. It landed on his face, bounced off, and rested on the floor by the bed, laying forgotten until the next morning.  
  


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Please review people! It would help ever so much to inspire me to write more!   
  


Val: You sooo crack me up! Have I ever told you that? Don't think so...oh wait. I think I have about six times! Lol.   
  


Lil-Brat888: Thanks so much for your review! But I can't tell you why Lily and Candace were fighting...yet. But I swear you will find out later in the story! Promise!  
  


Pittsy: Thanx so much for reviewing! I'm trying really hard to make my story as original as possible!  
  


YoukaiGryffindor4: I see you finally fixed the spelling of your pen name! Lol. Hurry up and write more in your story, and I'll try to update the Cloud of Darkness ASAP!  
  


Cho-Look-Alike: Thanks for being my first reviewer! But it makes me wonder, why haven't you updated your stories yet? I need to read more!!!


	3. The Bet

Thank you all who reviewed! But I am hoping to get more reviews for the next chapter, so here's the dealio. I won't update again until I have 22 reviews. That's ten reviews people! You can do it! Plus, 22 is my favoritist number in the entire world! I'm on a making up word streak...lol. I know some of you may say, YOU CAN'T DO THAT! (Not update until I get ten more reviews) Well, I most certainly can. For your information, I've got up to the seventh chapter in this book written. Just needs a bit of editing, but if I update slowly, it isn't because I'm having writers cramp. Lol...I'm so evil! Muhahaha....read, enjoy and review!

  
  


* * *

Chapter Three 

The Bet

  
  


Lily sat on her pinstriped comforter, nose buried in "The Beginning of Magic, and How it Came to be What it is Now." 

On her bed lay various books, seven of them being her NEWT classes, a couple of them were Muggle stories like A Midsummer Nights Dream, and Gone With the Wind. The rest of her room was meticulously clean, her spotless peach carpet gleaming, her walls lined neatly with pictures of her, her family, and Remus.

A vanity lay in the corner of the room, spotless and washed, with make-up, different sized brushes and all of Lily's hair necessities lie neatly in a row, nothing out of place.

"Lily!" Her mother called up the stairs. "There's someone down here you need to meet!" Lily groaned at the interruption, but she marked her place in her book, set it aside and walked downstairs.

Standing in the kitchen, was her sister Petunia and a man who looked like he was too big to fit through their doorway. He had no neck, a bushy brown mustache, a red face and large beefy hands. Besides that, he looked like an elephant, in Lily's opinion.

"Good day." He smiled curtly. 

"Lily, meet Vernon Dursley. Vernon, meet my sister Lily."

"Nice to meet you." Lily smiled cordially. He took her small hand into his large beefy hands and gave her such a firm handshake, she thought he was going to break all the bones in her right hand. 

She winced with pain, and rubbed her hand disgustedly, attempting to show no emotion. Petunia was Lily's older sister by five years. She had already gone to collage and passed, moved out of the house, and now, it looked like she had found herself a boyfriend.

"And you." He smiled at Lily. 

"Vernon owns Grunnings, the drill company." Petunia smiled fondly at him, her bony hand had disappeared amongst his large hands.

"Industrious." Lily smiled, with a taste of dislike towards this large man. 'Stop judging him! You don't even know him!' Lily scolded herself.

"What do you do, young lady?"

"I'm still a student." Lily replied quickly.

"Ah yes, cherish knowledge. It will always lead you in the right direction." He smiled cheekily. Lily rolled her eyes in disgust. Of course she cherished knowledge, but she didn't want a man like Vernon Dursley telling her to. 

"Well, why don't we go for a little lunch down at Café Lunette?" Petunia said quickly, changing the subject.

"Care to join us, Lily?" Vernon asked courteously.

"No thanks. I have some last minute homework to do before term starts." Lily lied.

"Homework over summer vacation? What kind of school gives homework in the summer?" Vernon laughed. Lily rolled her eyes again, then flipped her hair behind her shoulder impatiently. 

"Well, it was great to meet you." Vernon smiled. 'What a rat.' Lily thought to herself. Petunia and Vernon exited, Petunia looking like her hand had been amputated, as it was still being hidden by his beefy hands. 

"Well, he seems nice." Her mother said airily. 

"What a cow." Lily mumbled. 

"That's not nice, Lily flower." Her mother snapped.

"So? He's so fake." Lily said disgustedly heading upstairs to her room.

"Your sister would support you fully with any man you would choose." Her mother said to her retreating back.

"No she wouldn't." Lily called. "She never liked Remus when he came over for dinner in July."

"Well, you know her attitude about your school." Her mother pleaded, following Lily up the stairs.

"Why do you care if I don't like her boyfriend?" Lily asked, turning to face her mother.

"I just want you two to get along. You used to be the best of friends!"

"That was until I became, in her opinion, a freak." Lily snapped.

"She really doesn't think that." Her mother begged.

"Of course she does. She'll tell you. Just ask her. She would gratefully say anything to insult me." Lily answered, stepping into her room and closing the door, shielding her mothers sad, disappointed face from view. 

  
  


James rolled over in bed, wondering why he felt so miserable the night before. "Lily." He muttered softly, when he came to realization. He rolled over again, rolling completely out of bed. He landed with a thump on the wooden floor of his bedroom.

"Aargh!" He gasped, rubbing his side in pain. He staggered to his feet, out the door and down the stairs to the living room. Lying on his face on the floor sleeping was Remus. A sizzling sound was coming from the kitchen. James rubbed his eyes, realized he hadn't put his glasses back on, and staggered back up the stairs. 

He pressed his glasses to his face, then proceeded back down the stairs. He entered the kitchen, where Sirius was wearing a pink and black polka-dotted apron, and sizzling some sausages with his wand.

"Good morning, Sunshine." Sirius said in a high pitched girly voice.

"What happened to your date?" James asked, collapsing on a seat at the kitchen counter.

"What, Roselle? I told her things just wouldn't work with us. She's not feisty enough. I need a strong girl. Know what I mean?"

"Mmm." James answered in response.

"I mean, Roselle hardly ever talked, just kind of giggled at what I would say. She wasn't that good in the bed department either. I want a girl who can take the lead..."

"Padfoot, I don't need to know your sexual frustrations." James muttered.

"Hey, we all know yours. I can share mine."

"You know mine? Do you now?" James yawned.

"Wake up, and yes I do. I know you want Evans. I know she hates you. I know this makes you want her even more. I bet you anything if she actually started liking you, like it would ever happen, but I bet you wouldn't like her anymore for the sole reason that she liked you."

"I'll take the bet." James answered, waking up a bit. "I'll love her forever."

"Did I just hear my friend Prongs say he's in love with Moony's girlfriend?" Sirius laughed.

"Shut up."

"Fine. Then you have to listen to me and my, as you say, pitiful trifles with women. Take your pick. My sex life or yours."

James didn't respond. He just grabbed an apple out of the centerpiece dish and took a bite.

"OK, proceeding on, then, shall we?" Sirius said, levitating the sausages so they landed on two plates and clinked on to the table gently in front of James, and one in front of an open seat. He then directed his wand to the pantry and six eggs zoomed out and landed in the frying pan in front of Sirius.

"So, she needs to be caring, beautiful of course, slightly maternal, but not too much to the point that it would make me feel inferior to her. She needs to be strong, like she can't take any crap from anyone. And I love a challenge so she won't be the sleazy kind of person who would go to bed with me on the first date. And feisty, like the nice kind girl who has that bitchy edge, that is such a turn-on." Sirius finished.

"Are you done yet?" James snapped. 

"Hey, just because I'm not as transparent as you..."

"Who says I'm transparent?" 

"OK, describe what James Potter wants in a woman. Two words. Lily Evans." Sirius answered.

"Want to know what I really like?" James asked irritably. 

"Nah, I don't really care anymore." Sirius answered lightly, zooming the eggs to the plates on the table. He came and sat down and began to eat with his hands.

"You forgot toast, and silverware." James stated.

"Geh ih youfelf." Sirius said through a mouthful of eggs. James shrugged and joined in suit to eat with his hands. Just then Candace staggered into the room, face slightly pale and her hair sticking up in all directions.

"Morning, beautiful." Sirius grinned.

Candace rolled her eyes and sat down next to James. "Who spiked the goddamn punch?" She asked rubbing her eyes. She realized James and Sirius were eating with their hands. She attempted to suppress a laugh, but to no avail. 

"That was me." Sirius grinned.

"I hate you." She answered. "You know that don't you, Sirius Black?"

"How long were you hung over for?" He asked eagerly.

"Six to about an hour ago." She answered with disgust riddled in her voice.

"Breakfast?" Sirius asked, grinning even broader.

"No thanks." She answered, holding her stomach. "Am I the only idiot who fell for it?"

"Nope." Sirius answered cheerfully. "Moony's laying on his face in the living room, Wormtail's got his head glued to the upstairs toilet, and Bianca Trevors is still asleep in the upstairs guest bedroom. The rest of them went home last night, drunk, but not enough to have to stay."

"I hate you. Poor Bianca. She's so innocent too." Candace muttered, getting up and pouring herself a glass of water from the jug on the windowsill.

"What about Wormtail? Poor innocent little Wormtail, never had a drink in his life until I came along." Sirius laughed sarcastically. 

"I don't care about that prat."

"Ooh, harsh." Sirius laughed, obviously enjoying how feisty Candace was being after her three hour hangover. The only thing that James was thinking about was wondering what he was thinking when he made out with a drunk Candace the night before. 

"James," She said, turning to him. "Please tell me nothing happened last night." She said, looking hopeful.

"Oh..." James said, surprised she had mentioned anything. "What do you mean by nothing?"

"Like, no bedroom stuff or anything? I mean, you weren't drunk were you?"

"Madly depressed, but not drunk." James admitted. "Just a bit of snogging, but no more." 

"OK, good. I was worried for a while. Wasn't sure how low you would stoop." She grinned, teasing him.

"Anyways," Sirius interrupted bringing the attention back to him. "Term starts in three days, and Prongs here has a whole train ride with Lily Evans."

"Still onto her, are you?" Candace asked with interest. 

"Thanks, Padfoot." James answered, getting up and putting his dish in the sink.

"Anyhow, so he's off the list of my favorite people to sit with, so Candace, would you like to take his place?"

"Is it supposed to be an honor?" She asked in a falsely "honored" voice.

"If you want it to be." He answered flirtatiously. 

"I'll see if my schedule will work with you, then maybe you will be the one graced with my presence." She flashed a smile at Sirius. "I'm heading out. Happy Birthday, James. Thanks for the good time last night." She said in a sexy voice, then smiled before leaving the kitchen to get her stuff before she left.

"You weren't lying when you said only snogging were you?" Sirius asked quickly.

"No I wasn't lying."

"Good." Sirius answered.

"Why?" Sirius just stared out the door for a while before answering. 

"Man, she is it." Sirius muttered in awe.

"Right. Last night she was not bad, and now she's ultimate goddess?"

"How did she kiss?" He asked eagerly.

"She was drunk." James answered fairly. "Besides, I can't judge. I only did it cause I was bored. But now that you do mention it, I have an entire train ride with Evans. Who know's what could happen?"

"So, do we have a bet?" Sirius asked. "She likes you, you don't like her anymore."

"It's a deal. Loser..."

"Gives up female interaction for lent. No kissing, snogging, touching, you know what I mean."

"That's not fair for you, Padfoot my friend. Two weeks you'll go without. If you went for longer your balls would fall off." James laughed before leaving the room.

A train ride with Evans...only time could tell what would happen. 

  
  
  
  


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Don't forget the most important message of the day! Review! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! There will be more soon...if you review! 


	4. A Long Train Ride

OK, I know I said I wouldn't update until I got 22 reviews, but I'm not holding up to my word. I have 21. (I'm such a liar. LOL) But anyways, those of you who read but not review (If there's any) were redeemed by Spirit007 who wrote the story A Walk in Your Shoes, which rocks the world by the way, and came to read my story after I asked her to! You rock Spirit! So therefore, this chappie is dedicated to you! Thank you soooo much!

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Chapter Four 

A Long Train Ride

  
  


"Everything loaded?" Lily's father asked on the morning of September 1st. 

"Yeah, I think that's it." Lily answered, crawling into the passenger seat of the car.

"Have a good term, Lily flower." Her mother said, smiling down at her fondly.

"Thanks, mom. Love you!" She called out the window as her father drove towards King's Cross Station. They arrived there about forty-five minutes later. Her father plunked her trunk onto a trolley and Lily began to steer it inside.

"Can't come in with you, and I've got to run to work, so have a good term."

"Thanks, daddy." Lily said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Be good!"

"Of course I will!" Lily waved as her father disappeared into a crowd of people. Lily strolled her trolley towards Platform 9 ¾. The platform finally loomed into view, and Lily smiled in anticipation..

"How do I get in?" A small boy asked, looking around in a panic, all alone.

"Hi." Lily said approaching him.

He looked up at her in fear. "H...hi." He responded.

"Need help?" She asked.

"I...I can't find my platform." Lily looked at his trolley. On the bottom there was a large trunk with initials on the side, and on top of that was an oddly wrapped package that looked strangely like an owl. 'New Hogwarts student.' Lily concluded in to herself.

"Nine and three-quarters?" She stooped to whisper to him. His eyes went round, and then he nodded with comprehension dawning on his face. "Just walk straight towards the barrier. You'll slip right through." Lily said kindly.

"You...you're kidding right?" He asked anxiously.

"No. Run if you're nervous. If you get hurt, I'll pay all the bills to nurse you back to health, you have my word." Lily smiled. 

"W...what? You're crazy!" He gasped.

"I'm not crazy. If you're going to attend Hogwarts you need to be ready to see the abnormal, and believe it. I know. I'm a Muggle born too. It takes a while to get used to the world of magic, but this is the first step." 

He finally nodded. He turned his trolley to face to barrier with a determined look on his face. He started running towards, and soon disappeared into the wizarding world.

"And again, Evans plays the role of a hero." Came the voice of James Potter.

"What was I supposed to do? Just leave him here and let him miss the train? The poor kid! You have absolutely no sympathy."

"You make me sound so cruel." James smirked, rumpling his hair

"This is new news to you...how?" Lily retorted.

"Be nice now." James grinned.

"Isn't a whole train ride with you enough?" Lily snapped.

"Nope. I will endlessly follow your trail." James said, taking a deep bow. Lily took his lack of attention to her advantage and wheeled her trolley through the barrier and out of sight from James. He appeared moments after her, but she had already stepped onto the train and loaded her trunk in the Head Student compartment. 

"Lil!" A voice called.

"Hey, Candace." Lily answered. "I hear you went to James Potter's birthday party. When will you learn?" She shook her head in disgust.

"Never." Candace admitted. "I got drunk as shit and ended up snogging him."

"Eew. Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather not imagine that." Lily laughed, flipping her hair behind her shoulder. 

"Would the Head Boy and Head Girl please report to their compartment at this time." A voice on the loud speaker called. 

"Have fun with Potter." Candace smiled. "I've gotta go tend to some matters with Sirius Black."

"You little slut! Getting involved with him!"

"Oh trust me, if he wants that, he's not getting it from me." Candace assured her. "Now run along, you don't want to be late for James." She grinned waving Lily off.

"Oh shut up." Lily snapped heading down the corridor towards the Head Students compartment. She slid the door open revealing James sitting down, arms folded, watching the door waiting for her.

"Ah Evans, lovely for you to grace me with your presence now. You're late." He grinned. Lily rolled her eyes and sat down on the opposite side from him, thinking the train ride would last an eternity. 

James eyes roamed her figure, her tight, off the shoulders, striped green shirt that matched her eyes perfectly, and her hip hugging jeans that revealed a bit of her stomach. She was purely beautiful.

Lily squirmed in discomfort as she noticed his eyes roaming all over her. "Potter, what are you looking at?" Lily snapped. 

"Your eyes." He replied. Lily expected him to deny he was looking at her at all. 

Lily looked down to try and divert his gaze. She remembered the prefects were to come in and get information from them, so she grabbed the two packets of parchment off the compartment table and tossed one roughly to James.

Twenty minutes later, the prefects arrived into the compartment, and Lily took control.

"OK, passwords for your Common Rooms," Lily said handing four sheets out to the prefects for each house. "Those who were prefects last year may go, new prefects stay." Lily ordered. Half the group departed, and the other eight waited in an anxious silence.

"Congratulations for getting the fifth year prefects." Lily smiled. "But along with your new power, comes responsibility. You must maintain high grades in order to set a good example to students younger then you. A warning that teachers will be extremely strict with you in order to shape your rule breaking up, down to a minimum. 

"Every other hour on the train ride today, you are to patrol the corridors of each train car for about twenty minutes and write out a list of rule breakers to be turned in to Professor McGonagall. 

"You will have nightly rounds as well, Slytherin prefects have rounds Monday nights, Gryffindor's have Tuesday nights, Ravenclaw's on Wednesday nights and Hufflepuff's on Thursday nights. Myself and James will be on rounds as well with you, every night, and on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. The rounds will go from nine to ten for the prefects and nine to eleven for Head Boy and Head Girl. Those who wish to become Head Boy or Head Girl must take responsibility now in order to gain the trust from your teachers in order to become a Head Student. Any questions?"

"Yeah, how did he get Head Boy?" A fifth year boy from Gryffindor asked. James grinned broadly.

"Yeah, Evans. Tell them how I got Head Boy." James said.

"Uh...well," Lily stuttered in surprise. "He has extremely good marks if you haven't noticed, and he's well, pretty responsible when it comes to that." Lily said blushing. 'Damn it Potter!' She thought to herself. 'Note to self, make his life miserable!'

"Er...right." The Gryffindor prefects laughed. 

"You guys can go now. Patrol corridors in two hours." Lily slammed the compartment door shut after them.

"I have extremely good marks now, eh?" James asked grinning at the flustered look on her face.

"You little rat." Lily growled.

"Nah, that's Wormtail." James answered.

"What?" Lily snapped.

"Never mind." James answered. 

"Pig." Lily muttered under her breath. James laughed at her remark, and slouched back in his seat. Lily rolled her eyes and passed her gaze out the window. She couldn't believe him! He had to stoop that low to make her say nice things about him! She sat a moment in thought, then realized James eyes were on her once again. She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and tried to ignore his gaze.

'Oh god, she had to flip the hair.' James thought to himself. She looked so beautiful, so pure, like a flower; a Lily flower. 

Her eyes, so green, so beautiful. He loved every bit of her features. She bit her lip, still looking out the window, hair falling into her face. She was so ravishing. 

"Ergh, Potter!" Lily snapped pulling James out of his stupor. "What are you looking at?"

"Why does it matter? Are you afraid I'm looking at something other then you?" James asked trying to redeem himself.

"You know you were staring at nothing but me! If there's something you want to say to me, say it now and get it over with!" Lily snapped.

"I'm sorry, is it a bad thing I think you're beautiful?" He asked before thinking. 'Oh shit.' He thought to myself. 'Of all things to say, you had to say that.'

Lily sat a moment in silence. Did he just say what she thought he had? "Corridor patrol." Lily said jumping up quickly making her way out of the train compartment. 

She quickly made her way down looking for Candace. She poked her head slightly into each compartment after a small knock, saying she was just checking that everything was under control.

She opened one of the compartments to reveal Remus, Peter, and one of the girls who shared a dormitory with Lily, named Harmony. 

"Oh, hey Remus." Lily smiled. "Hey Peter, Harmony."

"Hey Lily." They answered. 

"Just checking up on everyone, making sure everything's going OK."

"Everything's just peachy in here." Harmony said cheerfully. 

"Great. See you guys later." She hurried out and continued searching the compartments until she found Candace and Sirius laughing like mad in the very last compartment of the train. 

"Candace!" Lily said sharply, getting her attention. 

"Oh, hi Lily." Candace said wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yeah, hi Candace. Bathroom, now." Lily said. Candace reluctantly got up.

She shut the compartment door looking longingly back at Sirius before they headed down the hall. They filed into the small bathroom and slid the door shut. The torches flickered on, and Lily quickly and vainly looked at her reflection.

"What?" Candace asked.

"It's just...he keeps staring at me and it's driving me insane!" 

"Ah, boy problems. You're confiding in me after we just made up after a seven month fight, which I almost spilled all the details about to Sirius, James and Roselle?"

"Yeah. Wait, you spilled?"

"No, I passed out before I spilled, I guess."

"Well, before the seven month fight we were best friends, so yes, I'm confiding in you." Lily said quickly.

"OK, what is the problem with a guy staring at you, thinking you are absolutely gorgeous?"

"It's just...disturbing!" Lily exclaimed.

"You know, he's really head over heels for you." Candace answered, examining her eye makeup in the mirror.

"I don't care! I'm with Remus so that doesn't matter to me."

"So basically, you left the compartment to escape the distraction of him staring at you, and dragged me out so you wouldn't feel like a loser all by yourself?"

"Am I really that transparent?" Lily asked, slightly upset that she had finally been figured out. No one else had figured her out before when she did things like that.

"Yes you are. I was really having a good time with Sirius. I think we might hook up." She grinned, dimples shining on her face.

"Did he say anything?"

"No, but I can just tell."

"Congratulations, Candace. You're his new flavor of the week." Lily laughed.

"Once I've tamed him, I'll be his flavor of the week for the next three months at least." She said waving her wand to fix her makeup. "And now I am forcing you to either go back to you compartment or stay here and feel like a loser." Candace said sliding the door open and leaving. Lily sighed and left as well.

'He better not sit there and stare at me again.' Lily thought to herself. Despite what she wanted to feel, she couldn't help but be thrilled by the fact that he had called her beautiful. She fixed her hair quickly before she re-entered the compartment. 'Did you just primp for Potter?' She asked herself disgustedly.

She took her seat and looked out the window, yet not really looking at anything at all, just thinking. 

"I got some food for you if you wanted. You were out in the corridor's when the cart came by." James said, looking up from his book, nodding at the table in the middle of the compartment. 

"Oh, thanks." Lily said quietly.

"What's a Head Boy for?" He grinned, then resumed reading what Lily saw as Muggle Studies Made Simple.

"James Potter is studying?" Lily asked with an air of surprise.

"Amazing isn't it?" James grinned. He looked back to his page, and a bewildered look spread across his face.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, taking a bite of a Pumpkin Pastie.

"I don't get this at all." He said gesturing to the page. "What's electricity used for anyways?" 

"It runs everything." Lily answered. He looked up, and grinned when he realized he was looking at Lily Evans, a Muggle born. 

"Like what?" He asked taking out a piece of parchment and a quill.

"Last minute homework?" Lily asked disapprovingly. 

"Yeah." James grinned guiltily. "I have to explain on one scroll what electricity is."

Lily sighed, and began to explain. "It's a power source. Televisions, radios, lights, computers, all that runs off of electricity. Muggle's can't live without it. It would be like going back to the middle ages."

"Who invented this ingenious thing called electricity?" James asked, quill zooming over his parchment.

"It wasn't invented. It was discovered. But Thomas Edison came up with the first light bulb." Lily answered. 

The only sound made throughout the compartment was the scratching of James's quill as he tried to copy down everything she said as she said it.

"One question." Lily interjected. 

"Yeah?" James asked, still writing.

"How did you get through three years of Muggle Studies without knowing what electricity is?" She looked into his eyes sternly, yet part of her was entertained by his lack of attention. 

"Let's just say that old Professor Grennich had a slight blind spot when it came to me and rule breaking, and not doing homework." James grinned. "But now that she retired and we're getting a new teacher, I think I might need to do some more work."

"That could help." Lily said, her entertainment increasing.

"Do I hear something other then hatred in your voice?" He asked, forgetting his homework for the moment. 

"No." Lily answered flatly. "Anyways, you should be trying harder to set a good example." Lily scolded.

"Yeah, you know it." James grinned, going back to his homework.

  
  


Lily had finished dressing in the bathroom of their Head Student compartment, and she was eagerly waiting for the train to stop in front of Hogwarts, her home. James had disappeared somewhere in the train, and Lily had been silently scolding herself for being less then cruel to him during their ride, yet she was still giddy with happiness that he had called her beautiful. 

Finally the train slowed to a stop at Hogsmeade station, and Lily hurried out to the carriages. She found Candace and Sirius still together, still laughing like mad, so she skipped the idea of sitting with them. Remus was nowhere to be found, and Harmony was having another one of her sobbing breakdowns.

"It's OK, sweetie!" Bianca cooed. "He didn't mean it! Seriously! Oh please just stop crying!" Harmony continued to sob.

In the end, Lily was stuck in a carriage with none other then James.

'This is going to be a long ride.' Lily thought to herself. 'Another note to self, keep mouth shut to prevent being nice to him.'

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So what did you guys think? Please tell me in a review! I would be so grateful! And I decided to do personal thank-you's in hopes to inspire other people to review. And just because I love all you guys for reviewing! Anyways...here goes!   
  


MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus: Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs are sexy characters aren't they? But no Peter. Gross little watery eyed rat. LOL. Thanx for your review!

Spirit007: I hope you like the chapter I dedicated to you! Keep up the excellent work on your story and update soon! Hope you come out of your writers block so we can all see James get his monthly little shock...lol.

A.M.bookworm247: Thanks so much for your review, and you're right. If James was a real person, man I'd be head over heels for him!

Cho-Look-Alike: Mmm...the jello was good. But I think it had some beetles in it. Not spiders (since I have a phobia for them and would probably die if I ate one), but beetles. Yes, Vernon is a bum. Gross fat man. Glad you found Sirius funny! I hope I can keep his personality up for the rest of the story!

Andufeniel: Thanks for your review! I really hope you liked this chapter!

YoukaiGryffindor4:Thanks so much for reviewing for me always! Can't wait for you to update your MWPP story, which I so accidentally stumbled upon. Seriously, it was an accident!

Diffen-Doofer: Seriously, I laughed out loud when I read ur penname! I have no idea what it means, but it's just so funny. It makes me happy =D hope you liked this chapter!

  
  


Thank you all, and keep reading and reviewing pleez!

  
  



	5. Back at Hogwarts

Wow! I got so many more reviews for the last chapter then in the previous ones. Thank you sooooo much guys! I really do appreciate. It's what inspired me to update so quickly compared to usual. Sry about the L/J fluff in this chapter. I had to do it. They're 17 having been a couple for the last 1 ½ years so they would be into this kind of stuff by now hopefully, or else that is a very unhealthy relationship. LOL. R/R people! Thanks a bunch!

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Chapter Five 

Back at Hogwarts

  
  


One completely mute carriage ride later, Lily entered the Great Hall looking around in awe and excitement that she was finally back home, where she felt like she actually belonged. The room was decorated to its usual splendor, the candles floating magically above the tables, the ceiling now dark violet with mysterious cloud shapes floating past. 

"Lily!" Candace called, catching up with her.

"So, how were things with Sirius?" Lily asked, searching for a seat at the Gryffindor table.

"So much fun! He's such an awesome person." Candace grinned.

"By the way, Harmony went into hysterics again." Lily commented, as she saw Harmony enter the Great Hall.

"Oh great." Candace groaned, the smile sweeping of her face in an instant. "No one's going to sleep tonight."

"Bianca was trying to calm her down, but it wasn't working very well when I saw it." Lily continued. 

"Where's Alice?" Candace asked looking around.

"No idea. Probably with Frank somewhere."

"Of course."

The Great Hall fell silent when the doors burst open, and the nervous looking first years lead by Professor McGonagall filed in, looking around in awe.

Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on the three legged stool, and the quiet rumbling in the hall disappeared all together, yet with the occasional sniffles from Harmony.

The brim of the hat split open, and began to sing. 

Far away, and long ago,

In a distant land called glen,

A young and cunning warrior,

Passed through from the land called fen.

  
  


And once in glen he came upon,

A young a beautiful face.

Her name was Rowena Ravenclaw,

And she possessed much wit and grace.

  
  


The warriors name was Slytherin, 

He conquered rich and poor.

But when he lost all fortunes,

He had to choose another door.

  
  


He traveled far, and traveled wide,

And up to wild moor.

Then he came upon an man,

With a daring nerve, he bore.

  
  


He came upon another maiden,

Who worked for what she had.

She always was the loyal type,

But inside, was very sad.

  
  


He brought the three of them and him,

together to make a plan.

To teach those of magical talent,

Until they were woman and man. 

  
  


They split apart to separate houses,

So they could pick ones they desired,

With the virtues they alone preferred,

To light their hearts on fire.

  
  


Fair Maiden Rowena Ravenclaw,

Chose those who loved to learn.

If you possess a ready mind,

She'll choose you in return.

  
  


But if you are a cunning child,

And wonder which house you're in,

You always will achieve your ends,

With great Salazar Slytherin.

  
  


Fair Maiden Helga Hufflepuff,

Chose those loyal, patient and true.

If you are unafraid of toil,

Then Hufflepuff's for you.

  
  


Last Lord Godric Gryffindor,

Chose those who're brave at heart.

Daring nerve and chivalry,

Was considered a great art.

  
  


I know the things inside your head,

I know what you possess,

So place me up upon your head,

And I'll tell you where you're best.

After the hat finished, the Great Hall burst into applause, and the Sorting began. All of a sudden, Harmony let out a loud audible wail.

"Harmony!" Lily said, jumping up. She pulled Harmony out of her chair and lead her to the door. From there she lead her to the closest bathroom.

Harmony was positively wailing by then.

"Jeez, Harmony! What in the world is wrong?" Her blue eyes were watery and mascara was running in black rivers down her face. Her blonde hair shone in the torchlight.

"It...it's Remus! He said that I..." She wailed. "He said...I...he thinks I'm a depressive!" She said throwing her head forward into the sink, her sobs reverberating around the porcelain and out into the bathroom.

"Who cares what he thinks?" Lily asked quickly.

"I do!" She sobbed. "I r...r...really like hi..him! And he...he likes you!" She sobbed even harder. Lily took her wand out and performed a simple Cheering Charm on Harmony. She raised her head out of the sink, blinked a few times, wiped her eyes and put on a weak smile. One last fat tear glided down her creamy face and past her high cheek bones.

"Thanks." She muttered.

"Just yell when you need another one." Lily said smiling at Harmony. There was something with Harmony, she was either very happy, or extremely depressed. There was no happy medium for her. The smallest things would throw her over the edge into hysterics, like the episode she had just had.

"Come on, we need to get back for the feast." Lily lead her out of the bathroom and back into the Great Hall. The Sorting had already finished, and the feast had begun. Lily sat down and began to pile food on her plate.

"How'd you calm her down?" Candace asked piling gravy on her green beans.

Lily pointed at Candace's gravy soaked beans with her fork."That's disturbing, Candace." 

"My opinion, not yours. Anyways, how did you get her to calm down?"

"Just a Cheering Charm." Lily answered making sure her green beans were on the far opposite side of her mashed potatoes before she started pouring the gravy. 

"Excellent thinking." Candace smiled beginning to eat her green beans. Three seats down from Candace, Peter was eating messily, and a small bit of gravy dripped down his school robes. Lily stared at it for a moment in disgust, dying to grab a napkin and clean it up. 

Candace caught her gaze and took matters into her own hand.

"Oi Peter, clean your stinking robes." She said tossing a napkin to him. 

"Thanks." Lily laughed. 

"And again, you are too transparent."

"I'm not that transparent, you're just good at reading my mind." Lily answered, taking a bite out of her chicken leg.

Finally after everyone had finished eating, and the desserts had also been swept away, Professor Dumbledore stood up to speak. The hall fell silent once again.

"Welcome back to another year!" He said beaming at all the students, his long white hair gleaming brighter then anything else in the hall. "Note that the Forbidden Forest remains forbidden for all students. No spells are allowed to be performed in the corridors of the castle. Students are to be in their Common Rooms by nine o'clock, the older students in by nine forty-five. Now prefects and Head Students, please lead the first years to their Common Rooms at this time."

"First years." Lily called. James swam through the crowd to meet Lily. 

"We don't have rounds tonight, do we?"

"No. They start tomorrow night." Lily said shepherding the first years out of the Great Hall. She lead them down the familiar path to the Common Room, until the portrait of the Fat Lady came into view.

"Password?" She asked mysteriously.

"Snapdragon." Lily answered. The portrait hole swung forward, and the students filed in. "You can explain this one." Lily said sternly to James.

"OK, kids. This is how it goes. Boys staircase is over there, go up and directly to your right, you will find your dormitories there. Girls staircase over to our left here, go up and directly to your left. Boys, don't try and go up the girls staircase. It can be painful." James said seriously. A few students laughed thinking he was joking.

"No, I'm serious!" James laughed. "Godric Gryffindor didn't trust boys, honesty, so he made and anti boy device on the girls staircase. You can try it if you want, but don't say I didn't warn you." Even Lily had to laugh.

"Hey Lily." Remus said wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

"Hey." Lily answered fondly. "Wanna go for a walk?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure." Remus answered. They walked in silence out the portrait hole, James glaring at their retreating backs. The headed outside onto the chilled dark grounds.

"You look ill, are you OK?" Lily asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired." He answered yawning.

"So, I hear you think Harmony's a depressive." Lily said, rounding to face Remus.

"That girl is!" He answered hotly.

"Oh come on, Remus. You've known her for six years now. She's bipolar! She can't help it and you really shouldn't send her over the edge like that."

"Yeah, wasn't thinking, I guess." He ran his hands distractedly through his short hair.

"Please do think, cause when she gets thrown over the edge, she's over all night and no one in our dormitory gets any sleep." Lily stated truthfully. When Harmony wailed, she wailed all through the night.

"Yeah, I'll watch myself next time." He grinned guiltily.

"Thanks." Lily smiled at him. His light brown hair was already starting to grey, despite his young age, and his dark chocolate eyes wore a look of exhaust.

He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth allowing him to deepen the kiss, and her to as well. He pulled her closer to him until every groove of their bodies had met.

He played with her long red hair, running it through his hands, feeling the smooth, silky texture of it. After a passionate fifteen minutes, Lily finally broke away.

Remus leaned in again, but Lily stepped back and smiled flirtatiously. "Now what would it look like if the Head Girl was caught snogging after curfew in the middle of the grounds?" Lily grinned.

Remus grinned and took her hand as they went inside. Lily gave him a quick kiss goodnight, then went up the stairs to her dormitory. Harmony was sobbing again, the curtains of her four poster drawn shut.

Alice was sitting reading Hogwarts, A History, Bianca was brushing her teeth in the bathroom, and Candace was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Candace?" Lily asked sitting down on her bed.

"Who knows." Alice answered without looking up from her book. 

"Where were you?" Bianca asked looking out from the bathroom. Her short sandy hair was off her face in a high ponytail and her normally hazel eyes were now purple. 

"On a walk." Lily answered, beginning to change while she pondered which spell Bianca had used to change her eye color.

"With Remus?" Alice asked looking up.

"Yeah." Lily answered. Bianca giggled as she came back into the room. 

"Can someone shut her up?" Bianca asked looking at Harmony's bed. "It's all your boyfriends fault too!"

"That's why I was on that walk." Lily answered. "I was lecturing him for saying that. And yes, I can shut her up." Lily poked her wand through the curtains and performed another Cheering Charm. The sobbing stopped at once, and the only sound that came from Harmony's bed was a loud hiccup.

The door burst in and Candace entered giggling like mad. "He is just so hot!" She laughed at the looks of her four dorm mates, and apparently Lily was the only one who knew who He was.

"What were you guys doing?" Lily asked.

"Nothing like snogging if that's what you meant." Candace answered.

"Nothing more, I hope." Lily answered.

"Oh no, I'm not that sleazy!" Candace answered looking astounded Lily had even implied such a thing.

"OK, bed everyone." Lily ordered. "It's ten thirty and the first day of term starts tomorrow. We can't be tired and we can't be late."

"I hate sharing a room with the Head Girl." Bianca yawned getting into her four poster.

"I can move out any time to the Head Girl dorm if you want." Lily suggested.

"You're not going anywhere." Candace ordered.

"Yeah, OK." Lily answered laying back in bed pulling the curtains shut. Suddenly she realized she had been chewing on something for the last forty five minutes. She spat it out and saw a piece of gum. 'That was weird, I didn't have that before.' She yawned before falling fast asleep.

* * *

Personal Thank-you time! And those who think Remus is clueless to the fact that James likes Lily, read ~*~rOx_stA~*~ thank you below for a little explanation! 

A.M.Bookworm247: Thanks so much for the review! I'm sorry about your computer. I hope it gets better soon!

Emily: I would so be head over heels for James. Poor blind Lily...thanks for the review!

Cowgirl up: I wouldn't ever dream of hating you for your review! Everyone has their own opinion, and mine is that by the time these people are seventeen they're going to be doing that stuff. I promise there's only a few more raunchy type scenes (If things go as planned =/) but only sexual innuendos stuff. I will NEVER do an explicit scene. Trust me. And I'll always put a notice at the top whenever there will be er...innuendos. Thanks so much for reviewing!

~*~rOk_stA~*~: Neat name! Took me about five minutes to type it =/ LOL. I hope you didn't mind the L/R interaction in this chapter. Thanks a bunch for reviewing! Oh and Remus is very aware that James is obsessed with Lily. He just has a lot of trust in Lily that she won't leave him for James and beside the fact, he's sick of telling James off for hounding her.

Diffen-Doofer: Dr. Seuss rox! Have you ever read the book The Butter Side Down? (I think it's called that) It's a really interesting short story! Thanks so much for reviewing!

Sannabelle: I'm glad you like how I portray James. I always imagined him this way after the fifth book. Sadly some people don't agree with me. =/ (Like my sister) Thanks for the review!

JoyaSagrada: I wish James was real too. And Sirius. Man I'd be charged with bigamy! LOL. Thanks for the review!

YoukaiGryffindor4: LOL. That puts an interesting picture in my mind. You're just walking through the train station and you see someone slamming their head on a brick wall. Oh well, LOL. Thanks for the review!

JillianRyn: Thanks so much! Glad you liked it!

Rue: Thanks a bunch! I hope I updated soon enough for u!

MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus: I have to agree that I'm extremely disappointed with the James, Sirius and Remus in the movies. I imagined them so much...what's the word? Better looking! Let's just say they didn't age well. LOL.

Babylilz: Don't worry, Lily's falling nowhere fast. It will be a long and painful process for James to win her heart. LOL. Thanks for the review!

Vamperfly: Thanks for the review. Oh, and take your own advice and update your story soon!

Allied-Inspiration: Glad you guys liked it! Yes, poor Remus. Don't feel too bad for him though. You will find out why later tho...=D.

  
  


Thanks so much guys! I'll try to update as soon as possible! But I have the flu, so once my mom gets home, I'm banned to the realms of my bedroom to do nothing but read the five Harry Potter books over and over again...how I wish she would hurry up and publish the next one!

  
  



	6. Rounds

WOW! 54 reviews? Thank you so much everyone! You have no idea how much I appreciate all the reviews! So read, and please do enjoy, and review, and please include some CONSTRUCTIVE criticism if you have any. No flames, someone flamed my other story and it incredibly disheartened me. There's even a special little feature at the end that me and my friend who I beta for came up with. So R&R!

* * *

Chapter Six 

Rounds

  
  


Plink. "Ouch!" Plink. "OW!" Plink. "Stop it, Bianca!" Candace yelled. Lily awoke with a start at her yell.

Lily pulled back her curtains to see Bianca sitting outside of Candace's four poster tossing 

gobstones onto Candace.

"You said you wanted your gobstones back." Bianca laughed tossing the last one in with the loudest "OUCH!" yet. Bianca got up, went into the bathroom and shut the door. Candace crawled out of her four poster, hair sticking up in all directions. 

"I think she's still mad at me." Candace muttered, sitting down on the floor. "You really made a lovely mess of things last year, getting everyone involved. I'm surprised I still have friends."

"So you've finally realized it was all your fault?" Lily slurred getting out of bed.

"I knew it was my fault from the very beginning, I just never wanted to admit it." Candace said standing up and stretching. "And now she's taken the shower first and she'll be in there until breakfast starts. Great."

"Password to the Prefects bathroom is 'winterfresh'. No one ever uses it in the morning." Lily said. "I'm going to the Head Girl room." She picked out a fresh set of school robes and headed out of the dormitory and down the girls staircase. She went out the portrait hole and down the corridor a way until she came up to the tapestry of a large and regal griffin. It was beautiful. Lily gasped as she ran her hand along the fine weaving that made up the griffin. A large and leafy wreath was wrapped around the griffin's neck, and a forest was set as the background.

"Unicorn tail." Lily gasped. The griffin roared, and swung forward to let her in. The first thing that came into her mind when she entered the room was, if she didn't like to be with her friends she would definitely be in there. 

A large four poster bed sat by a window that must have been ten feet high and fifteen feet long, all stained glass with pictures of red roses and a large griffin in the middle. Satin sheets covered the bed and transparent curtains hung around with velvet red curtains that could be closed over the transparent hangings. 

Ornately carved night stands sat on each side of the bed, one holding a vase of red roses, the other empty for any particular thing she wanted to put on it. 

There was a wardrobe next to the bed made of the same cherry type of wood as the night stands, with the same ornate carvings in it. It was large enough to fit three regular sized wardrobes inside it. 

A small study table matching the wardrobe sat closest to the portrait door with two wooden chairs cushioned with red velvet next to a large empty fireplace. 

"Wow..." Lily gasped in awe. "This is gorgeous! Absolutely perfect...." She walked across the room and opened the door to the bathroom, which was nothing short of splendid as well. The floors were white marble, and a large marble bathtub with solid gold taps sat in the corner. A large shower with a glass door and gold handles sat next to the marble toilet. The sink had ornate carvings of griffins on the edges and the taps were as well gold. A large mirror was placed over the sink that could open and store a large amount of things in it.

She set her robes on the floor, undressed and stepped into the shower turning the gold handle to turn the water on. Lily had never experienced such comfort in her entire life. 

An hour later she felt refreshed, clean, and overall fantastic. She stepped out of the bathroom, out the beautiful room, and walked the familiar path down to the Great Hall.

"That is the most beautiful room I have ever been in." Lily sighed. "I think I might move in."

"You wouldn't." Candace snapped.

"Oh, I would." Lily answered smiling.

"Not cool." Candace pouted.

"Oi! Candace!" Sirius called from the door.

"Hey Sirius." Candace grinned. Sirius quickly made his way over to Candace, leaned over, whispered something in her ear, then slipped a piece of parchment down the front of her robes.

"Sirius!" Candace giggled. He waited just long enough to watch her reach her arm down to retrieve the message.

"That was just lovely." Lily said, trying not to laugh.

"Schedules, seventh years." Professor McGonagall said curtly, shooting looks of disapproval between Sirius and Candace.

"Thanks, Professor." Lily said taking hers and looking over it. "NEWT level Charms first, then NEWT Transfiguration, lunch, NEWT Potions and then NEWT History of Magic, NEWT Arithmancy. Sounds fun." Lily smiled.

"Sounds a lot more advanced then me. Regular Herbology, NEWT Transfiguration, NEWT Potions, Regular History of Magic. At least I'll pass exams." She grinned guiltily. "Hey, at least you won't have any classes with James Potter." Candace laughed.

"Let's hope not." Lily answered. The bell signaling ten minutes before classes started finally rang, and Lily picked her stuff up and hurried out.

"See you at lunch!" Candace called from behind her.

Lily entered the Charms classroom five minutes later and sat in her usual seat in the middle of the room. Not in the front, nor the back, yet right in the middle. The rest of the class slowly proceeded in.

"Evans. Should have known you'd be in this class." Came the voice of none other then James Potter.

"Oh god, not Potter." Lily sighed quietly. "Yeah, I'm in here." Lily snapped irritably. Disappointment spread throughout her that another year had come where she would have to compete with James to be the best in the class. Another year of hearing him ridicule her thinking somehow in a blue moon she might like him. All that on top of Head Girl duties...Lily thought she was going to die. 

"Ah, Evans." Sirius's voice came.

"Not you too?" Lily groaned. 

"You better believe it. I'm smarter then you thought, aren't I." 

"Apparently." Lily answered, rolling her eyes and flipping her red hair behind her shoulder.

"Hey Lily." Came Remus's voice from the door.

"Oh! Hey, Remus." Lily answered, getting up and hugging Remus affectionately. 

"Sit down! Time for class to begin!" Professor Flitwick squeaked from somewhere behind his desk. Once everyone was seated, Remus next to Lily and, much to her displeasure, Sirius and James sitting directly behind her, Professor Flitwick clambered on top of his books. 

"Good morning class, and welcome to NEWTS Charms. We will be working hard this year to get you in tip-top shape for your exams in June. Please pass in your homework from last year." Everyone shuffled through their bags, then passed up the three essays they had to write over the summer.

"Now, today we will start off by taking notes on these five charms." Professor Flitwick waved his wand and five different spells appeared on the board. Lily quickly copied them down before Professor Flitwick began to explain them all in detail.

An hour later, they left Charms, all with cramps in their hands, and ink all over their fingers. "Was that the most boring hour ever, or was it just me?" Sirius groaned, stuffing his notes into his bag, attempting to massage his hand as he went.

"I thought it was rather interesting." Lily replied, flipping her hair behind her shoulder.

"You think anything and everything is interesting if it has to do with learning." Sirius responded.

"What's your next class?" Remus asked Lily, changing the subject before Lily would begin to get testy. He shot a glare at Sirius.

Lily checked her schedule. "NEWT Transfiguration." 

"Ah," Remus answered. "I've got that tomorrow. I'm up to Muggle Studies."

"Well, bye then." Lily said giving him a quick kiss before hurrying off down the hall. She entered Professor McGonagall's class, and quickly took her seat next to Candace.

"Hey Candace." Lily smiled, taking her book out, waiting for class to start.

"Hey Lily, how was...Sirius!" Candace said, jumping out of her seat and going to the door. Lily spun around and saw James and Sirius strutting in. 

"Oh god, not them again." Lily sighed her herself, turning around in her seat to try and avoid looking at them.

"I think she's avoiding looking at you, mate." Sirius whispered once Candace had sat down again.

"Probably." James answered sadly.

"Moony's girlfriend." Sirius said bluntly.

"Thanks, I needed to be reminded that." James laughed.

"And Prongs comes crashing down from floating on a true love high. So, how's our bet going?" Sirius grinned.

"Not valid yet, cause I haven't gotten her to like me. But I do have a plan." James grinned.

"You have a plan?" Sirius asked, grinning as well. Several girls in the class went into a daze as he smiled, brushing a few strands of hair out of his eyes casually.

James grinned, turning to face Professor McGonagall as she entered the classroom. "I always have a plan."

"And then, with the crack of a knife on wood, the sack exploded, a violent torrid tornado of a storm erupted, ripping the sails right off the ship! But that's not all, instead of landing safely on Itheca, they were blown away, far away back to the god Aeolis." Professor Élan yelled, passionately bringing his fist onto Candace's desk, causing her to jump about two feet into the air.

"Excuse me, Professor," Bianca piped. "But why are we studying Muggle Literature in Potions?"

"Ah, Miss Trevors." The young black teacher grinned. "Anyone care to answer that question?" He asked.

Lily raised her hand.

Professor Élan smiled. "Miss Evans." He said, gesturing to her.

"There's a basis of magic behind the story. At the time, Homer believed everything he wrote to be improbable, yet instead of declaring it fiction, he stated it as religion, as if such a thing had really happened due to the gods."

"Continue." Professor Élan said, taking a seat on Candace's desk. Candace leaned back in her seat.

"Well, when Odysseus and his crew landed on the island of Circe, the goddess transformed several of the men in his crew into animals, from a certain concoction that was honey wine. Yet due to magic, this casts a light on potions. But Hermes, messenger of God had given Odysseus a special plant to make this potion not have an effect on him, which is a antidote."

"Excellent. Take ten points for Gryffindor." Lily's face split into a smile.

'She's so beautiful.' James thought to himself. 'So smart...what the hell are you doing? Stop staring! Think about the plan...' 

"Back to Aeolis he went, yet Aeolis thought him a foolish mortal, and would not help him again. So they sailed on until they came upon the island of Circe. At the island of Circe, Odysseus is forced to make a difficult decision in order to get his men back. He must sleep with the goddess, and cheat on his dear wife Penelope. But he doesn't have a choice now does he?" Professor Élan laughed. 

"Now take out your books, turn to page four and copy down the potion, read to page seven and copy down the antidote. For Friday I want a one foot essay about the relativity of The Odyssey to Potions class, and the two potions you just copied down. If you need help, I suggest you consult someone who knows a tad bit about what we just discussed and have a little lesson. Class dismissed." Everyone jumped up, and left class as quickly as they could.

"Hey Lily, will you help me on that essay?" Candace and Bianca asked at the same time.

"Maybe." Lily grinned wickedly.

  
  


"Potter!" Lily called, banging on James' dormitory door. He was ten minutes late for rounds, and Lily wasn't pleased. "Potter! Where the hell are you?" She yelled.

"Settle down." James answered opening the door. "I'm coming." He smirked and shut the door behind him, heading down the stairs.

She hurried behind him. "What took you so long?" She snapped.

"I'm here now." He grinned, pushing the portrait hole open, Lily fuming behind him. "So, what do we do? Walk around for two hours and look for people who are out after hours, when we're going out after hours as well?" He grinned. "I think I might like this."

"Potter, do me a favor and stop talking." Lily snapped coldly. 

'Strike one.' He said to himself.

"What else am I supposed to do for two hours?" James grinned at the expression of exasperation on Lily's face. "So, since I," He said with an air of royalty. "am Head Boy, and you are Head Girl, I thought maybe, only if you agreed of course, we could run an idea by Dumbledore."

"What?" Lily snapped irritably as they headed down the corridor.

"This school lacks entertainment. Chances for couples to snog and not get in trouble for it." James grinned. Lily flipped her hair behind her shoulder impatiently.

'What a pig.' She thought to herself.

'What a beauty.' James gasped to himself.

"So, I say we suggest a Halloween dance for sixth and seventh years."

"What?" Lily snorted, trying to cover a laugh.

"You know you want to. A whole night alone with Moony."

"Why do you call him that?" Lily asked, changing the subject in annoyance.

"It's a nickname. What else?" James laughed as if she had asked a question of stupidity. "So, what do you say?"

"I say Dumbledore will never go for it." Lily huffed, turning the bend and starting down a new corridor. James sighed, and untied his tie casually. "Hey, we're supposed to be in uniform." Lily snapped. "Besides that looks absolutely ridiculous." Lily stopped and quickly tied James' tie. He smiled slightly as her hair fell forward into her face as she tied the knots. He took in a deep breath, loving the smell of her long, beautiful, red hair."Come on, even if Dumbledore rejects the idea, you want to try don't you? If he accepted it, you could dress up and spend hours and hours getting ready. I mean, that makes girls happy, doesn't it?" James grinned.

"Your knowledge of what girls really want could fit in a teaspoon." Lily snapped.

'Strike two.' James sighed to himself. 'Better be careful if I want this plan to work out.'

"OK, so you don't like primping. But you could dress up and be all beautiful and dance the night away, and I could prove to you I have not been inactive." James grinned slyly.

"So that's what this is about?" Lily asked, trying to resist the urge to laugh.

"Not entirely, but it is an added bonus." James grinned.

"You wouldn't dance one minute." Lily answered, fighting a grin. "You couldn't find a dancing partner if you tried." She finally gave up and grinned. She didn't mean what she said, but she was still trying to fulfill her goal to make him miserable.

"What about you, mademoiselle? May I have one dance?" He asked suavely.

"Make a pig fly and I'll do it." Lily laughed.

"Deal." James answered grinning. 'What in the world are you getting yourself into?' James asked himself. "So, you'll suggest it with me?"

"I suppose." Lily answered. "I would like to see a pig fly before the day I die." She smiled flirtatiously. 

'Oh my god, what are you doing? Are you flirting with Potter and actually saying you believe he can make a pig fly? Stop it now!' She scolded herself.

They passed in silence for a while, Lily silently cursing herself, and James too afraid to ruin what he had already gained by speaking again.

Lily checked her watch. 10:30. They had a half hour left.

"How much longer?" James groaned.

"Thirty minutes." Lily answered.

"Quick question." James said, testing her patience at the moment. 

"Yeah?" Lily asked. She would have avoided him, yet at the moment she was remotely bored.

"What does the Odyssey have to do with Potions." He grinned guiltily as he rumpled his hair to make it stick up more in the back.

Lily flipped her hair, and couldn't help but smiling. "The gods use magic. Circe has a potion which turns Odysseus's crew into animals. It's a transforming potion, which is what we are supposed to read about. The plant Hermes gave to Odysseus is the antidote."

"Help me on the essay?" He asked hopefully.

"Maybe tomorrow night during rounds." Lily replied. 

'Why are you helping him? What happened to making his life miserable?' Lily screamed in her mind. 'Then again, what else am I supposed to do for two hours while wandering around the halls with James Potter?'

"Alright. Thanks." James grinned. He finally scored. She had agreed to dance with him (if he made a pig fly) and she agreed to help him on his essay, meaning she would have to talk to him. No going up to strike three.

Finally they made their way back to the Common Room. "Well, night Evans." James grinned, walking up the stairs to the boys dormitory.

"Yeah, night." Lily said, going up the stairs to her own dormitory. 'Lily, you are finally losing it.' She said to herself before flopping onto her bed and falling asleep, still in her school robes.

  
  


Thanks so much! Hope you enjoyed it, and please review! Thanks! And now, onto the special feature. A short story made JUST FOR FUN............dun dun dun dun! Peter's Hour of Doom!

Previously seen in YoukaiGryffindor4's fic, For Your Love:

  
  


PETER'S HOUR OF DOOOOOOM: 

Youkai: HAHAHHAHAHHAHA

Pixie: Uh...why are you laughing?

Youkai:....I don't know...

Pixie: *rolls eyes* Okay. WELCOME TO PETER'S HOUR OF DOOM!!!! This'll be a mini-series going between Youkai's fic and my fic! And blah blah blah....okay. Let's bring out the victim...PETER!!!

Peter: ...uh...

Pixie: SILENCE YOU! *ties peter up*

Youkai: HERMAN *huggles army penguins* Listen, to kick it off, we'll start with the ever so wonderful famous PENGUIN ATTACK! Used to conquer Canada in 3008...CHARGE *penguins charge and poke peter non-stop...* YOU CALL THAT AN ATTACK---WAIT....*throws fishes on peter*...*penguins attack peter*

~*~*~*~*~*~PART II, Written by Yours Truly!~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Pixie: OK, the moment we've been waiting for. Would our assistant, Cho Chang (since that little biotch can't do anything better then be a ringmaster's assistant...lol) please bring out the fireproof glass box. 

*Cho staggers onto the stage, levitating a large glass box with her wand. She sets it gently on the ground.*

Youkai: OK, you can go now. This is our show not yours. *Cho slumps off the stage.* Anyhow! PENGUINS! Stop attack! *Penguins immediately stop, and Peter gasps for breath from the ground, smelling like fish.* Now, usher Peter into the fireproof box!

Random Person From Audience: Why is Peter going in a box.

Pixie: You will find out soon! Youkai! Get a piece of Peter's hair!

Youkai: *Takes kitchen scissors and grins evilly.* You've got it. *hands hair to Pixie. Pixie pulls small rag doll out of her pocket, and quickly sews Peter's hair on it's head.

Pixie: You will now all be educated in the art of Voo-Doo! Raise the box into the air! *Cho levitates Peter in the box so he is ten feet above the ground, right above the center of the stage.*

Youkai: Hey Cho, gasoline!

Cho: *blushes* Oh yeah, sorry! *tosses gasoline to Youkai, and another to Pixie. With a synchronized action, Pixie and Youkai raise the gasoline above their heads, as Pixie places the voo-doo doll below Peter in the box. The crowd falls silent....

OK, look for Part III in Youkai's fic soon! I'll probably post it the next time I update, but she's gotta write it first, so It'll probably appear in her fic first. So go read her fic, For Your Love. Go Harry/Ginny fics!

OK, R&R please!


	7. The Tutor

Sorry this took a while! Thanksgiving crept up on me rather quickly, and as I had a mission with some of my friends that occupied much time and brainwork, I didn't get to editing this chapter as quickly as I would have liked. Also, I had some major editing to do in chapters 9-11 in this story which I've finished writing, but not editing....anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! And remember, review!

  
  


Chapter Seven

The Tutor

  
  


"Mr. Potter." Professor Pall called through the silence of the class. "Tell me, what is a cellular telephone?"

"Erm..." James answered, thinking. He grinned. "Well, Professor Pall. You happen to be the teacher, so you tell me. What is a cellular telephone?"

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm, Mr. Potter." Professor Pall snapped. He walked over to James' desk, picked up his homework and read it over. "You said that a CD was a credibility detector?" He asked in disbelief. James merely shrugged. 

"Isn't that it?" He asked cooly. Several girls sitting in the row behind him giggled.

"Tell me Potter." Professor Pall said, looking James in the eyes. "How is it that you managed to get into NEWT Muggle Studies?"

"Our old professor had an odd fondness for me." James admitted "modestly".

"Ah well, you see. I don't teach that way." Professor Pall hissed greasily. "I teach based on what students know. And from where I am standing, you know nothing."

"That's a bit harsh!" James gasped, pretending to be hurt.

Professor Pall pretended to have not heard James. "You are to get a tutor. I will assign you one." Professor Pall went to his desk, picked up a scroll of parchment, read down the list muttering to himself until he finally came upon a name. "Ah. I think I've found the perfect tutor for you." James groaned. A tutor? Sirius would never let him get over it. "Let's see, Muggle born, fourteen OWLs, yes. Ah, Head Girl as well." James' eyes widened in shock. "Yes. Lily Evans. She's perfect." He handed a sheaf of parchment to James. "You are to take this to Miss Evans, plan tutoring sessions three times a week and get her to sign off. She has already volunteered to serve as a tutor for this subject so there should be no problems getting her to agree."

"Yes sir." James muttered, shoving the parchment into his bag.

"Class dismissed." Professor Pall sniffed as the bell rang. James slowly got to his feet and trudged to the door.

A large slap on his back brought James back to his senses. "Nice Prongs." Sirius roared with laugher. "Got a tutor now!" 

"Shut up, Padfoot." James snapped.

"Whoa, someone's gotten their ego ripped!" Sirius continued to laugh. James quickened his pace back to the Common Room, leaving Sirius is stitches behind him.

He climbed the steps, hopping over the trick step up towards the portrait of the Fat Lady. He was momentarily distracted, however, when he heard a large crash from behind him. He raced back, and looked down the stairs to find Sirius locked in between the steps. In his gales of laughter, he must have forgotten to jump the trick step.

"Sirius Black." An amused voice came from behind him.

"Hi, Candace." Sirius grinned from in between the steps.

"What in the world are you up to this time?" She giggled.

"Well, I guess I forgot to jump." Sirius answered truthfully.

"After seven years." Candace shook her head in amusement.

"Well, I was a tad bit distracted after James got assigned a tutor in Muggle Studies. I mean, what kind of prat needs a tutor in that class?"

"Thanks Padfoot." James snapped acidly.

"Oi Prongs! I didn't know you were there!" Sirius began to laugh again, sinking lower in the steps. He was starting to cause a holdup on the stairs, groups of people gathering behind him, waiting to go up.

"So, uh. Anyone wanna help me out?" Sirius grinned.

"I have a better idea." James grinned evilly. He took his wand out of his robes pocket, and aimed at the stair above the trick step. "Reducto!" He yelled. The stair broke, and Sirius fell through, disappearing from sight.

"Real funny, Prongs!" His muffled voice came from in between the steps.

"Potter!" An angry voice came. Coming up the stairs, was Lily. She jumped gracefully over the broken steps and made her way up to James. "Could you tell me what in the world that was all about?" She snapped.

"Friendly interaction." James laughed.

"Friendly my butt!" Sirius's voice came again. Candace crawled down into the hole to try to help him out.

"Anyways, I need to talk to you." James said to Lily, regretting he had to ask her to be his tutor.

"About what?" Lily huffed. 

"Can we uh, walk away from here?" James asked.

"Fine." Lily sighed in exasperation. What was he up to now?

"Well, see, you know how you asked me how I got into NEWT Muggle Studies?" 

"Yes." Lily answered, getting more impatient. 

"Well, our new professor suggested, more like is requiring me to get a tutor. And since you're Head Girl, muggle born, and your name was on the list, he assigned you to be my tutor."

'Oh no.' Lily sighed. 'Just what I need. To spend more time with him!' "Really?" Lily sighed.

"Yeah, um, he said three times a week."

"You're that hopeless?" Lily asked, raising her eyes.

"I guess." James smiled guiltily.

'I knew I never should have signed up for the Muggle Studies tutoring. Damn, it's too late now! How can I get out of this one?' Lily thought to herself. "Fine." She finally agreed. "When do you have Quidditch practice?"

"Monday, Thursday and Friday nights." James sighed.

"Alright. Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday." Lily grinned. If she had to do it, at least she could make him slightly miserable by making one of the sessions on a weekend.

"Saturday?" James groaned.

"Look, I have to sign you off. Saturday or nothing." Lily said firmly. She grinned at her own brilliance.

"Fine." James sighed. He couldn't afford for her to not tutor him. "What times?"

"Tuesday and Wednesday nights we have rounds along with other homework to do, so an hour. Say, six to seven, right before dinner. And on Saturdays, we can get done before breakfast if you want." Lily grinned. She was up early anyways. It would make no difference to her.

"Breakfast is at eight. How early do you want to go?" James whined.

"Six o'clock?" Lily asked.

"No way." James insisted. "I am not getting up that early."

"Fine. Saturday nights. We could do some lessons during rounds." Lily finally gave in. She realized if she was already spending time with him during rounds, she might as well make it a dual purpose.

"Great." James grinned. "Could you sign this?" He asked pulling out the parchment Professor Pall gave him. 

"In the Common Room." Lily said. They came to a halt as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Password?" She asked.

"Snapdragon." Lily said.

"Snapdragon it is." The Fat Lady smiled as she swung open. Lily set her bag on one of the Common Room tables and began to rummage through it to find her quill. She finally found it, and pulled out her luxury peacock quill. She dipped it in ink, then wrote their three lesson nights, and signed her loopy signature at the bottom.

"Thank you." James grinned, shoving it back in his bag. "So. It's Wednesday night. Shall we begin the tutoring?" 

"Fine." Lily sighed. "Like I don't have any other homework."

"So. I have an essay to write, and about six other different things of homework to do. Should we start there?"

"Alright." Lily sighed, feeling the end of an hour would never come.

"OK, essay topic. What would the average muggle teenager do in their spare time with electricity?" James unrolled a piece of parchment, wrote his name on the top and looked at Lily expectantly. "Well?" He asked.

"What do you think?" Lily grinned. This was going to be more fun then she thought.

"What? You're my tutor. You're supposed to help me!" He said looking disbelieving.

"Yes, help you. Not give you the answers. What would you do in your spare time if you had no magic?"

"I'd probably smother myself." James admitted.

"No you wouldn't. Pretend you never got your Hogwarts letter. You haven't learned any magic ever. What would you do?"

"Fly on a broomstick." James muttered. "I learned that before Hogwarts." Lily sighed. This was going to be harder then she thought.

"No, that's magic. Muggle's can watch TV, they can hang out at arcades, they can go roller skating. They can get on the internet, play computer, they can go swimming at a rec center."

"And in English that would mean?" James snapped, annoyed. 

Lily sighed in exasperation "James, try to be open minded." She snapped. 

"I am. You're just not speaking in a language I understand."

"Fine. Muggle's can lay on a couch and stare at a big box that plays pictures. The pictures all run together so it's kind of like looking through a window at another persons life."

James looked confounded. "And how does that work?" He asked.

"Electricity." Lily sighed. "OK, so a bunch of people get together with a video camera."

"What's that?" James asked.

"It's kind of like omnoculars." Lily attempted.

"Oh! So you can watch one thing, then play it over and over again?" James asked, finally understanding.

"Yes!" Lily smiled. Finally, made something click. "So a bunch of people stage a kind of show. They use the video camera to record it, then you can play it on a television."

"Weird." James muttered, looking amazed.

"Yes, absolutely fascinating." She muttered sarcastically. "How long does this essay have to be anyways?" Lily asked, hoping not too long. If it was longer then one scroll they'd have to pull an all nighter at the rate that things were going.

"Hey Lily." Remus came up behind her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Oh, hey James. What're you up to?" He asked, looking surprised that Lily was sitting with James.

"I was appointed to tutor this idiot." Lily whispered.

"Tutoring." Remus grinned reluctantly. "Have fun! I'll see you at dinner in fifteen minutes?" He asked, playing with Lily's long red hair.

"Save me a seat." She smiled flirtatiously.

"Wouldn't miss a chance to." Remus answered, turning to leave. "Bye Lily."

"Bye." She smiled serenely.

'Why can't that be me?' James thought to himself. 'Why can't she think of me like that? Why can't she look at me like that ever?' 

Remus approached James and whispered in his ear, "Remember, mine, not yours."

"Yeah, right." James sighed. Remus crossed the Common Room and exited out of the portrait hole. 

"Well, we can leave that for later. You obviously aren't understanding the concept yet." She snapped, yet silently wondering what Remus had said to James. "What other homework do you have?"

"Let's see..." He shuffled through all his mess, which greatly annoyed Lily, until he found a sheet of parchment. "Terminology." He said quickly. "What is a remote control?"

"What do you think it is?" Lily grinned. She could play that game if he was reluctant to learn.

"I really don't know." James admitted.

"Fine." Lily sighed. "You better study this. If you ever get asked this on homework again, you're out of luck. It changes the channels on televisions."

"So it would match up with a TV?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes."

"OK, a walkmen?"

"A portable device to listen to music on." Lily sighed. She felt like she was the one doing the homework instead of him.

"Right. Ah, dinner time. Let's end this little study session." He grinned, packing his things up.

"I'd love to." She sighed, getting up and leaving.

"Not going to wait for me?" He grinned.

"No." Lily replied shortly, leaving the Common Room.

"Lily! Wait up!" Candace yelled from behind her. Lily turned to see Candace hurrying down the stairs from the girls dormitory. She caught up with Lily, and they left out through the portrait hole. 

"You know, you really should be nicer to him." Candace said seriously, stopping her a ways down the corridor. "I mean, what if you end up liking him some day and he's so mad at you that he'll never return the same feelings again?"

"I don't think I'll ever like him." Lily answered. 

"But you never know." Candace reasoned. "Just please, for my sake, try to be a little nicer to him?" Candace shot Lily her puppy eyes.

"Fine." Lily laughed, putting her hand in Candace's face.

"Thank you." Candace grinned. "I am now happy for life."

"I don't see why it makes a difference to you."

"What a shame that I feel bad for poor little Jamesie." Candace joked.

"It is a shame." Lily sighed as they entered the Great Hall.

  
  


Thanks again to all my dedicated reviewers, and those who read but don't review and hopefully enjoy the story! Please drop a review by! Part of the reason I needed to edit later chapters is that someone mentioned Dumbledore being at the dance, which I totally forgot to put him in! So, I do accommodate requests if people throw them out. So, if there's anything you would like to see in this story that wouldn't be too out of the way, tell me in a review and I'll put it in! Thanks again!

  
  


*Pixie*


	8. A Series of Unfortunate Events

Hey! I started writing my other fic again after a month-long break! Well, here's my new chappie, hope you like it, and since I'm in such a good mood, I'll be giving personal thank-you's to everyone who reviewed for the 7th chapter!

*WARNING*- For the people who are offended by slightly "raunchy" scenes, there is a small maybe two paragraph "raunchy" scene. Just thought I would warn you.

Chapter Eight

A Series of Unfortunate Events

  
  


October fell over the castle with drafts of cold air, and autumn sunlight could be seen through the large windows of the castle. The leaves were beginning to fall, and Mr. Fredago, the caretaker, could be seen on the grounds attempting to vanish the leaves from the sloping lawns of the castle.

Tutoring lessons with James were, in Lily's opinion, useless and petty. James didn't really care to learn all the things Lily wished to teach him, meaning their hour long sessions went to great waste. Yet, that Saturday night, Lily and James decided to go to Dumbledore's office before their rounds to confront him about having a Halloween dance.

"Excuse me Professor." Lily said as they entered his office.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, Miss Evans. Please, have a seat." He motioned to two squishy armchairs in front of his desk. "So tell me, what brings you here?"

"Well, um." James stuttered.

"We wanted to propose a ball." Lily said quickly.

"A ball?" Dumbledore asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes. A Halloween Ball." James said. "For fifth, sixth and seventh years. Everyone would wear costumes and there would be music and dancing. You know, a little bit of inter-house bondage." Lily realized that James was extremely smart to mention inter-house bondage to Dumbledore.

"Hmm... Halloween night I suppose?"

"Yes." James answered. "In Hogsmeade." Lily kicked James in the shins. He never mentioned anything about it being in Hogsmeade. James winced in pain, but continued to look at Dumbledore in anticipation.

"Where exactly in Hogsmeade?" He asked, surveying James carefully.

"Well, er, there's the old theater that's by the post office. They don't use it much anymore, and it's rather large. Shouldn't be too much to rent it out for the night either. There's a lot of different rooms for like snack bars and then one for dancing." James said hopefully.

"The old theater, eh?" Dumbledore asked, smiling serenely. Fawkes the phoenix flew from his perch and landed elegantly on Dumbledore's desk. "Sounds like a grand idea."

"Really?" Lily asked in excitement.

"Really, Miss Evans." Dumbledore smiled. "I find it easiest for students to focus if they can get a break from school occasionally. I shall be talking to Madame Bijou about borrowing the theater for the night."

"Thank you professor!" James grinned.

"Now, off you two go. You have rounds to do now. Am I correct?"

"Yes sir." Lily grinned. She couldn't help but be excited about the ball. 

"Then off you trot." Dumbledore smiled as Lily and James made their way out of his office. 

"I knew it would work!" James hooted in triumph once they reached the bottom of the stairs. "So tell me Evans, what do you think you'll go as?"

"As if you really care." Lily muttered nonchalantly.

"I do. You see, my grand plan of making a pig fly is to take place day after tomorrow out on the Quidditch pitch at six o'clock, and I want to make sure I won't look like a prat dancing with you at the ball." He smirked.

"As if that's your real reason." Lily replied. 'He's not really making a pig fly for me, is he?' She silently asked herself.

"No, really. It is. Well, I believe it would be suiting for you to be a princess, milady." James grinned. 

"A princess? Are you trying to flatter me?" Lily asked as they stepped down the stairs toward the kitchens. 

"No. But are you flattered?" James grinned, stopping and turning to face Lily so they were rather close to each other. So close Lily could feel James' hot breath on her face.

"Hardly." Lily answered, rolling her eyes as she ducked away from him.

"Maybe a damsel in distress?" James asked, following behind Lily.

"And what, you're my knight in shining armor?" Lily asked sarcastically.

"If that's what you want." James grinned, rumpling his hair.

"Of course it isn't what I want." Lily snapped.

"Someone's not having a good day." James grinned, as they went down another flight of stairs. "Time of the month?"

"If it was, why would I tell you?" Lily asked acidly. "And just because someone's in a bad mood doesn't mean that it is that time of the month. If a man is happy, do we all assume he has a hard on?" Lily asked, smiling wryly.

"What?" James asked, but he couldn't help but grin. Lily couldn't help herself. She just couldn't resist. She stopped, turned and looked James in the eye. Her chin tilted slightly upwards to look him in the face, she stepped closer.

James took in a breath, not believing that Lily was merely an inch and a half away from his face, on her own free will. He grinned crookedly, rumpling his hair again.

"So, James Potter." Lily said deepening her voice to make it sound more mature and sexy. "With that lopsided grin on your face, can I make the assumption that I turn you on?" She smiled sexily, and James wanted so badly to just grab her and kiss her right then and there. "Or is it just a lame statement, like the fact that I'm in a bad mood so I'm on my period?" She asked, moving slightly closer. 

James remained silent, violently restraining himself from touching her.

"Come on, James. Aren't you going to answer me?" She asked, running a finger down her face. Revulsion rippled through her body, yet she held her act, looking at it as the ultimate revenge.

"You really are a bitch when you're on your period." James gasped, balling his hands in fists to resist touching her.

"I already told you. I'm not on my period." Lily snapped, stepping away. James let out a large sigh, then followed behind her, running has hand down his face where she had touched him. 

'She is purely evil!' He yelled in his mind. 'Yet, I loved it. Damn I wish she would do it again!'

"Any way." James sighed, trying to push his thoughts out of his mind. "Have you come to a decision about your costume?"

"How about you tell me yours. I'm the one who would look like the ultimate fool dancing with you. In fact, I'll look like a fool anyways."

"Wise man says fools fall in love." James grinned.

"Yes, I am in love." Lily answered disgustedly. "With Remus." James sighed. She had to say it.

"Well, it's almost time to turn in." Lily said checking her watch. 

"Finally." James groaned. His stomach had been rumbling for the last hour. He had plans to get his invisibility cloak and immediately go down to the kitchens and get some food. 

"Password?" The Fat Lady asked at the portrait hole.

"Snapdragon." Lily and James chided. She swung forward, and admitted them inside.

"Night Evans." James said running up the stairs to his dormitory.

"Yeah, night." Lily said, still smiling about what she had done to him. She opened the door to her dormitory to find Harmony, Alice, Bianca, and Candace all sitting on their beds glaring at Lily.

"What?" She asked innocently. 

"Nothing." Candace sighed. "Just everyone's in a bad mood."

"Your fault." Bianca muttered.

"It is not." Candace snapped.

"Shut up guys." Lily sighed, collapsing onto her bed. "We're seventeen, not seven."

"There's no difference when it comes to Alice." Bianca snapped. The bickering went on all night...

  
  


"Miss Evans, Mr. Potter. May I speak with you?" Professor McGonagall asked, taking them away from the Gryffindor table the next morning.

"What is it, Professor?" Lily asked worriedly.

"Oh, nothing to worry about, Miss Evans. It was just that it has been found as a requirement for the Head Girl and Head Boy to stay in the Head Students dormitories. Why have you two chosen not to?"

"Well, just wanted to be with our friends I guess." James answered shrugging.

"Yes, in any case, you must move into your rooms."

"Why?" Lily asked in confusion. 

"Head Students fires have been connected to Professor Dumbledore's fire for immediate consultations. Professor Dumbledore was attempting to reach the two of you regarding the Halloween Ball, and was disappointed to not be able to. Also, it has been a form of status to have ones own dormitory. I would have thought you would like the privacy." Professor McGonagall sniffed.

"We're being forced to move into the rooms?" Lily asked, taken aback. 

"Well, yes, in a way. Please don't look at it as a punishment. Like I said before, it's a status marking to inspire younger students to become a Head Student. Also, the four founders found it to be a, well, necessary rule. You will be allowed to stay in the Common Room of course, but you will sleep in the Head Student dormitories."

"Yes Professor." Lily sighed. She and James turned to sit back at the table, and surprisingly, they took a seat next to each other.

"That's just not fair." James whined. "Who cares what some ancient old witches and warlocks said before Christ was born?"

"We'll live with it." Lily sighed, beginning her breakfast.

"Excuse me, students. May I have your attention?" Dumbledore asked, standing up. The Great Hall fell silent. "It came to my attention, over the weekend, by the two Head students, that this school lacks entertainment. So, in result, there will be a Halloween Ball for students in the fifth year and above."

Several students cheered, but those under the fifth year groaned, some muttering things like, 'Typical, only a year under,' or, 'This is being prejudiced to younger students!'

"The ball will be held at Bijou Theater in Hogsmeade, and those who attend must wear a costume of their choice. Those younger then the fifth year may attend only if they manage to get a date who is of age." Dumbledore finished. "Thank you, classes start in twenty minutes, so eat up! Oh, and will Head Girl and Head Boy please report to my office after breakfast to further plan the ball."

Later that night, Remus confronted James about Lily. "Prongs." Remus said as James slumped back in the Common Room couch by the fire.

"What's up, Moony?" James yawned.

"Look. I don't want this to sound mean or anything, but back off of my girlfriend. For the last time. She would never cheat on me with you, please respect that I love her and back off." James was taken aback. Remus had snapped at him every now and then when James let his tongue hit the floor a little too much, but he had never said it so coldly. 

James forced a smile. "Sorry Moony. I get your drift. I'll back off."

Remus grinned, and let out a sigh. "Thanks Prongs. I knew you would understand."

'Understand this Moony.' James thought to himself as Remus walked up the stairs to his dormitory. 'You've loved her what, a year and half, maybe a couple weeks more before you started dating. I've been obsessed with her the for the last, what, four years? Man, that's unhealthy.' 

Lily burst into the Common Room, and collapsed on one of the couches on the far side of the Common Room next to Candace.

"Thanks for moving out." Candace snapped bitterly.

"Hey, it's not my fault." Lily answered innocently.

"Yeah, sure." Candace sighed. "Whatever. I'm going to bed."

"Grow up." Lily muttered under her breath.

"Giving you a hard time for it, is she?" James asked, coming over to sit next to her.

"Just a little bit." Lily sighed. A small tapping came from the window, where a barn owl was holding a scroll of parchment, tapping to come in. Lily opened the window, and relieved it of its burden before it soared back out the window. She unrolled the scroll, noticing a few tear drops on it, and read it to herself.

  
  


Lily flower,

Sorry to worry you with news like this at school, but Grandma Fran and Grandpa Earl were in a fourteen-car pile up on Thursday night. They unfortunately didn't make it out of the hospital. Your father has been answering calls all week, and it's been extremely hectic here. I hope all is well for you, don't worry too much about your father. He'll be all right. 

Hugs and kisses,

Mommy

  
  


Lily stared at the parchment a while in shock, comprehending what she had just read.

"What is it?" James asked curiously. Tears began to well up in Lily's eyes as she came to the sudden realization she was never going to see her grandparents again. "Lily? Are you OK?" James asked. Lily shoved the parchment in James' hands, collapsed on the couch and began to cry. He read it over quickly, then looked back up at Lily.

"Oh, Lily. I'm sorry." He said sympathetically, sitting down next to her.

"No..." Lily said, desperately trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I'm all right." She only cried more in frustration that she had to let James see her in a state like that.

"Lily, it's OK you're upset." James said blindly, unaware how to handle the situation in front of him.

"No, it isn't!" She cried in despair. "I never go to pieces like this!" 

"It's OK..." James sighed. Lily blinked a few times, and looked into James' eyes which were full of sympathy that was full of sincerity. 

"Oh god, I'm going to miss them." Lily cried. Every summer, she and her family would go to her grandparent's house for a full week and have barbecues, camp outs, go on fishing trips and more. Every Christmas before Lily was accepted at Hogwarts her family would spend the week off from school with her grandparents as well. They were like a second set of parents to Lily and it was unimaginable for Lily to think of life without them. She would never see them again. She could never bound into their house smiling like a Cheshire cat to hear her grandmother yell, 'Is that my flower? My Lily Belle?' and her grandfather respond, 'Stop hugging her so hard Fran, you're gonna suffocate the poor girl. There's a good girl, now get over here and give me a hug!'

Never again could she search through the fine art dealerships searching for the best present for Christmas to add to their decor. Never again would she be able to hear their voices, to see their faces. Never ever again. 

"Erm..." James muttered uncomfortably. "Can I er...walk you to your dormitory?"

"OK." Lily sniffled, attempting to wipe her eyes again. James helped her up and they walked down the corridors in silence until they reached Lily's dormitory. "Thanks James." She sniffed.

"Cheer up, Lily." James said putting a false smile on. "I don't want you to be sad for the performance of a flying pig tomorrow!" He said in attempts to cheer her up.

Lily smiled weakly. "OK." She hiccuped. "Night." She sniffed. 

"Yeah, night." James said, heading the opposite direction to his dormitory.

  
  


MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus- Well, Remus and Lily will be over soon...then James and Lily will rock together! Thanks for reviewing!

Jillian Ryn- Thanks for the awesome compliment! That really makes me feel good! Well, I hope you liked this chapter, though not much really happened. Just setting up for later chapters a bit. Glad you like my story!

YoukaiGryffindor4- You flamed me! You evil, evil momo! You flamed me! OK, just kidding. Of course that's not a flame! Minor error detection is fine with me! Thanks for the review, and Peter's Hour of Doom will be continuing after the thank you's!

LiLy*eVaNs*PoTTeR2- Glad you like it! Remus is a kind of a trusting guy...for a while. =D

JoyaSagrada- Don't mention it, about our friend. It's all good. Ooh! Fight! *Grabs popcorn and sits to watch intently.* Thanks for the review!

Allied-Inspiration- Are you and Pagan sisters? Just wondering since you have the same penname together. Hm...are you the evil one, or is that Rougue =D? I can't remember. I read your profile too long ago to be able to recall. Well, thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chappie!

Raven09- I'm glad you like my story. I hope I updated fast enough! Thanks for reviewing!

J.E.A.R Potter- I thought the whole idea of tutoring was a bit amusing myself. Just wondering, what does JEAR stand for? Thanks for reviewing!

LiL'Angel1011- A bit of foreshadowing, since you don't want Remus to get hurt...He won't get hurt, that is until he get's jealous when Lily and James hook up! Thanks for reviewing!

Cho-Look-Alike- Don't worry, I won't say Cho is ugly, because she's not supposed to be. I just don't like her. NOOO!!! NOT THE SPIDERENS! Thanks for reviewing!

Nomes- Actually, I got the gum idea from my friend who was in my dance class. Halfway through the class she was telling up about how she had been at the movies with her boyfriend, then like two minutes later the teacher was like, Emily! Spit out your gum! And she was like, gum? what gum? Whoa! I didn't know I had gum! It was extremely entertaining. Thanks for reviewing!

Goofygal- Glad you like my story. Thanks for reviewing!

~*~rOk_stA~*~ - I got a better idea then editing your penname. A beautiful thing called copy and paste =D. Well, to tell you the truth, Remus and Lily are only together to make James jealous and make him want her more. I wasn't even planning for them to be together until I started writing the story and was like, well, she needs to be with someone to make James jealous. Thanks for reviewing!

KristiexxNguyen- Glad you like it! Hope you liked this chappie as well! Thanks for reviewing!

  
  


OK, Now to Peter's Hour of Doom, the mini series! 

(Please hold, have to go copy and past the last part that Youkai posted in her fic!)

OK- Part three that is seen in Youkai's fic (but only part of part 3, so if you want to see all of it, go read her fic. =D)

Cho: Ooh, will do! *hands Pixie matches before resuming to flirt with random audience member*

Youkai:...hey...that's my BOYFRIEND! *chases cho* 

Pixie: GO YOUKAI!! FINISH HER!!! KILL HER OFF.........I mean...I WILL NOW LIGHT THE MATCH!!!

Audience: *gasps and become quiet* *some cameras flash*

Pixie: MUAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHH*cough*HAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAH.*lights match and throws it gracefully onto the box*

Youkai: COME BACK HERE YOU Bi---OOh...pretty colors....*watches box light on fire*

Peter: #$&*#$%&*@#&*#&&*@#

Youkai: BAD PETEY! *pulls out OTHER voodoo doll and smacks it*

  
  


OK art 4- Written by me!

Pixie- Now! That was only a preview of what it to come! CHO! Stop flirting and get the hose!

Cho- Who do you think you are? The ultimate ruler?

  
  


Youkai- Arrrgh! *Swings through the air on a long rope and lands on Cho, knocking her to the ground.* 

Cho- OK, going! Ow...*winces in pain as she unravels the long firehose, and hands it to Pixie.*

Pixie- Thank you. *turns the hose on and aims at Cho. Cho is blasted backwards with a gush of icy cold water.* Oops! Didn't mean to! *Falls to the flood laughing hysterically, hose spraying everywhere.*

Youkai- Muahahaha!*chokes, gurlging on water* urgh...*cough cough* Pixie! Get a hold of that stupid hose!

Pixie- *Stops laughing and looks up.* Oops. Sorry, Youkai. *Aims the hose at Peter's box.* Now, with the voodoo dolls we have fashioned, we will torture Peter, the grand finale being, fire! Muahahahahaha!* get's tackled by Cho* Get off me! Youkai! Help!

  
  


OK, review please, it's the only thing that keeps me going! Thanks! 

  
  


Pixie

  
  



	9. The Little Pig That Could

Wow, It's been a week since I last updated! But, here is an update for you all! And since it is Saturday, and my gymnastics practice is cancelled (And it's 9:30 in the morning....I'm sorry, but usually I'm not out of bed until eleven.) I have nothing better to do then write personal thank-you's to everyone who reviewed for the last chapter! Oh, and after this chapter, is the HALLOWEEN BALL!!!! YAY!!!! OK, just read on, and review please! 

Chapter Nine

The Little Pig That Could

  
  


James sat in bed that night, thoughts chasing each other through his head. Would he ever win her heart? Or were his attempts plainly fruitless? Remus was right. Lily would never cheat on him. "Might as well give up, and just move on." James sighed, sitting up. "What am I doing?" He asked himself, as he began to pace back and forth around his bedroom. The dying embers of his fire cast a shadowy light across the room. 

"What am I doing?" He repeated. "Moony is my best friend, and I'm sitting here plotting how to steal his girlfriend, which he's been with for a year and a half. I have no respect!" James muttered angrily. 

"I've been deceitful, I've lied and even betrayed my friends to try and get her to fall for me. That's it, Prongs." James said firmly, running his hands through his hair. "Stop it now. Move on, date someone else, give up on Lily Evans."

James stopped, looked at his reflection on the mantle of his fireplace.

"Who am I kidding?" He asked himself. "I can't give up on her." He resumed pacing around the bedroom. "She's so pure, so smart, so beautiful, so kind. Well, to everyone but me." He grinned to himself. 

"Jesus!" James gasped in exasperation. "She's got a hold on you, Prongs! She's got you wrapped around her goddamn finger! Give her up! This is unhealthy!"

'Not if she returned your feelings.' A voice in James head answered. "Well she doesn't." James said firmly. "And she never will. Give up."

James thought aloud, "Who else is a good catch around here? Well, Candace Dailey is really good looking, decent, nice. Oh yeah, Padfoot's got dibs on her. Harmony? Manic depressive." James answered his question, shaking his head in disgust that he had even thought of Harmony. "Bianca? Cute, got the sandy blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail all the time, with nice purple eyes. Eh, green is better." He said to himself.

"Alice? No, with Frank for the last two years. That girl from Ravenclaw...what's her name, Alena Field? Blonde hair, blue eyes, pretty, popular and not to mention, good at Quidditch." James stood a moment in thought. "Could work." He sighed. No one could take Lily's place in his heart. "I'll ask Alena to the Halloween dance. But I still promised to make a pig fly for Lily." James smiled slightly.

"Wait, that shouldn't matter anymore since you're going to pursue Alena now!" He said throwing his hands up as he began to follow a new track around his room. "This is the way it's going to be." He told himself firmly. "A promise is a promise. Lily was really down too, so a little humor couldn't hurt. I'll just give her a note telling her it will be just as friends, which will probably make her happy too." James sighed.

"Then, I'll start dropping hints to Alena tomorrow. I've got to make it seem real, not like an overnight thing, like it really is." He said, thinking quickly. 

"Well, first thing I need is a pig." He sighed. He turned to one of the chairs at his study table, seized his wand from his night stand, and pointed his wand at the chair. "Metamorphose Adiposis." With a loud squeal, the small pink pig let loose from where the chair was, and took off into the bathroom. James tore after it in attempts to make it fly.

Lily rolled over in bed, neck sore from sleeping in the wrong position. She opened her eyes, and stared at the top of her canopy in thought. 

"I think I'll go as a southern belle." She sighed finally. "It shouldn't be too hard to make with magic." 

Just as she was about to get out of bed, she heard a loud squealing noise from outside her bed. She jumped in shock and quickly pulled the curtains back, revealing her large bedroom, flooded with the early morning light. Floating gently passed her fireplace, was a small pig with large hawk wings sprouting out of it's back. The wings were beating gently up and down as the pig made its way around the bedroom.

"Oh my god!" Lily gasped. Her surprise turned into immediate amusement, and she began to laugh so hard tears welled up in her eyes. 

  
  


James crept up the stairs to his old dormitory the next morning. He slowly pushed the door open to cease the creaking the door usually let out. He grinned mischievously as he tip-toed to Sirius's bed. He pulled the curtains back, leaned forward so he was speaking right next to Sirius's ear. "Hey Sirius!" James yelled, laughing.

Sirius jumped in fright, then rolled over in his bed. "Come on, mommy. Just five more minutes." He groaned. James let out a short laugh. Sirius had never been much of a morning person.

James poked Sirius on the back of his head. Sirius slapped James hand away groggily. James grabbed a pillow and hit Sirius round over the head.

"Mommy! Five more minutes!" Sirius groaned. James laughed even harder, attempting to suppress his giggles, so not to wake up Remus or Peter.

"Not five more minutes, Sirius." James laughed, hitting him on the head with the pillow again.

Sirius groaned and pulled the covers over his head. Now this was getting to be useless. James sighed and pulled the covers all the way down to Sirius's feet. "Sirius! Wake up!" He bellowed.

"Wha? What're you on about?" Sirius asked groggily, sitting up in bed.

"I need to you drop a few hints to Alena Field that I like her." James sighed, glad that he had finally removed Sirius from dreamland. 

"Say what?" Sirius asked sitting up.

"I need you to make Alena know that I like her."

"Who?" Sirius asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Alena Field." James said, starting to get annoyed. "Blonde hair, blue eyes, Ravenclaw girl."

"Oh, that beautiful one?" Sirius asked, standing up and yawning. "What do you want me to do now?" He asked, giving his full attention to James. 

James sighed. "Drop hints that I like her."

"You like her?" Sirius grinned. "Moved on from Evans now, have you? That was quick."

James forced a grin. "What can I say?"

  
  


James stood around the corner and held his breath, hoping his plan would work. He had to press himself against the wall to restrain himself from stopping what was about to happen. He had to let Lily go or else he would be miserable for the rest of his life.

Sirius began to speak, and James took a deep breath, holding it so he could hear them properly.

"Hey Alena." Sirius said from around the corner.

"Oh, hey Sirius." Alena answered.

"So, you've heard about the Halloween ball, haven't you?" Sirius asked casually.

"Oh yes. I think it sounds like so much fun too!" Alena answered happily.

"Yeah, well do you have a date?" 

"Smooth Sirius." James growled under his breath. "Make it seem like you're coming onto her."

"No, why?" Alena asked, her voice wavering slightly.

"Well, you see. I know the perfect person for you to go with." Sirius answered.

"Really? Who is that?" Alena asked, sounding a bit nervous.

"Well, let's see. You're seeker for Ravenclaw Quidditch team, you and him could really relate." Sirius said.

"Is he a Quidditch fan?" She asked, sounding slightly eager.

"Only the biggest." Sirius laughed. "He's smart, excellent at Quidditch, and he's totally hot for you." Sirius said.

James pounded his fists against the wall in frustration. Things weren't going as planned, and he had half the urge to run around the corner and confess he didn't care whatever happened to Alena as long as Lily returned his feelings. 

"Really? Who is this mystery guy?" Alena asked, the nervousness fading from her voice.

"Tell me, Alena. If you could go to the ball with anyone, who would you choose?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I don't know. I don't think I have the option of going with whoever I wanted."

"I'm sure you do. Just tell me, who would the lucky guy be?"

"What if I don't want to tell you, Sirius Black?" Alena asked. 

"You can modify my memory after, just get it off your chest, it'll make you feel better. And then I can tell you who wants to ask you." Sirius said. James could almost hear him grin.

"Well, I guess I would go with James Potter." Alena said, her voice cracking a bit. "Do I need to modify your memory now?" She giggled nervously.

"Nope." Sirius laughed. "Because it just so happens this smart Quidditch fan is none other than James Potter himself."

"You're kidding right?" Alena asked anxiously.

"Nope. So, if he asked you, you would say yes?"

"Well, yeah!" Alena answered, her voice much higher now.

"OK, great." Sirius answered. "I'll uh, catch up with you later then?"

"Yeah...sure." Alena answered lightly. Sirius came around the corner and grinned at James. Reluctantly, he followed Sirius into the Great Hall. 

'What am I getting myself into?' James asked himself. 'Get over Lily. That's it. Just getting over her by dating someone else like Alena.' He sighed and took a seat next to Sirius. Lily was nowhere to be seen yet.

  
  


Lily wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes, and walked over to the pig, which had landed on her table next to the fire and was attempting to preen its wings, yet a snout was no use. A large red bow was tied around its neck, and a scroll of parchment was attached to it.

Lily unrolled the bit of parchment after pulling it off of the pig's neck, and read it quickly.

  
  


~Lily~

I believe you owe me a dance, am I not right? But I would like you to know that I want this dance to be just as friends. You're with Remus, and I respect that. Let it be a Head Girl/Head Boy dance, in congratulating ourselves for planning an excellent ball.

Signed,

James

  
  


Lily smiled slightly. James Potter only wanted it to be as friends? He was learning respect, just when Lily thought it was entirely hopeless for him to do so! A knock came on the portrait hole, and Lily strode over to open it.

James was standing on the other side, looking not at all like his usual arrogant self. His hair wasn't sticking up to its usual standard, his face was slightly pale, and his glasses were once again crooked. He looked even a bit disgruntled.

"Hi Lily." He said putting a fake smile on his face. He looked her up and down, still in her pajama's. 'Whoa, hold it. Stop.' James ordered himself. 

"Er, hi." Lily answered at his disgruntled look. She quickly fixed his glasses before James spoke again.

"Oh, thanks." James laughed. "Well, will you accept to dance with me at the ball?" James grinned guiltily.

"Just as friends, right?" Lily smiled. 

"Yeah sure." James shrugged. "I'm asking Alena Field to go with me, so anything more might make her say no." He grinned.

'Alena Field? That hopelessly brainless girl?' Lily asked herself. 'Wait, why do I care? I'm going with Remus!'

"Well, I hope she says yes." Lily answered untruthfully. "And er...do you want your pig back?" She grinned.

"Oh, that was really a chair from my bedroom."

"Was it?" Lily smiled. "How did you get it to actually fly?" She asked in amusement."Just a Transmogrifian spell." James shrugged.

"A Transmogrifian spell?" Lily asked in awe, her eyes widening. "That's after NEWT level!"

James grinned slightly. "Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm supposed to meet Sirius, so I'll have to catch up with you later." 

"Yeah, later." Lily said, closing the portrait hole behind her as she walked back into the middle of the room. Why did she seem so...disturbed that James wanted to ask Alena?

  
  


Personal Thank-you's!

* * *

Gryffindor620: Glad you liked my last chapter! Thanks so much for the review! 

MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus: I'm not liking Remus much myself either. Luckily he and Lily are over pretty darn soon....:-)

YoukaiGryffindor4: Halloweeny-ness coming up next chapter! Woo hoo! It needs major editing though, to make it, ya know. Pop to life. Thanks for the FANTABULOUSISHAWESOMENESSROCKINGBOMBDIGGITYNESS review!

LiLy*eVaNs*PoTTeR2: Lily is a tease...muahahaha! Muahaha...about naughty things to happen...when no one's looking! Hee hee! Wow, I'm a bit hyper right now. Thanks for the review!

Juxtaposed: Yes, sadly I have a tendency to forget about the Marauders in my L/J fics. But don't worry. A couple nights after the Halloween Ball is a full moon, and I shall write it, in full detail. =D Thanks for the review! Mmm...Marshmallows.

Allied-Inspiration: Poor Pagan! Don't sit in the corner rocking back and forth! Hope you got your internet fixed. Thanks for the review Rougue!

Spirit007: Ah, but the only reason people keep reading is to discover the unknown. :-) But I'll tell you this. Remus and Lily will no longer be an "item" sometime between chapter ten and chapter twelve. So know that it's coming soon. Thanks for the review! And hurry up and figure out that sentence that James has to say so you can keep writing! It scared the crap outta me when you said you weren't going to write it anymore...even if you we're just kidding!

Jenna: The grandparents thing is cliche? I'm sorry! I just needed to make Lily kind of sad to stir some of James' emotions...Evil sadness. AHH! UMBRIDGE! WHERE????? *Spins around desperately trying to find a place to hide.* Thanks for the review!

JoyaSagrada: Ouch! Watch where you're shooting those...things....*turns to Sirius* Oooh....sexy man. Must go pursue Sirius! Thanks for the review!

Ehlonna: Remus and Lily end...in a way that James and Remus can still be friends...don't worry. They'll just be a bit ticked off at each other for a while.

Cho-Look-Alike: Cho's a blithering Hose pipe! Yay! I like that description! Thanks for reviewing!

Goofygal: Why Candace was so mad? Just to tick Lily off, basically. But in the character world, let's just say she was visited by a monthly friend at the moment to make her in a bit of a bad mood. Thanks for the review!

  
  


OK, now you know what to do people, Review! I'm only seven reviews off from 100! Please help me achieve my goal! But, *sigh* I have finals all next week, so I probably won't be updating until next weekend. But I'll try to get some more done this weekend! (As now, it is 10:30. Yes I did spend an hour on this. Well, I was chatting at the same time.) 

Thanks again!

Pixie


	10. The Halloween Ball

20 Reviews for the last chapter??? Thank you sooooo much guys! You have no idea (Or maybe you do...) How much it means to me for all you nice people to review! Thanks so much! And in return I made a super-long chapter for you all! (Well, long for me) Oh, and this is the moment a lot of you have been waiting for. Slightly dramatic, yes, but drama is great. I just hope I portrayed it right. Read Review and hopefully Enjoy!

  
  


Chapter Ten

The Halloween Ball

  
  


Lily nervously paced around her bedroom. "Coiffeuse." She said, pointing her wand at her hair. It instantly sprang into tight spiral curls, and folded up creating a waterfall-like effect of red spirals.

"This is as good as it gets." Lily sighed, examining her appearance in the mirror.

"As good as it gets." James shrugged, examining his costume. He had finally decided to go as Zorro, the Muggle hero. He had put a spell on his eyes, so he could go without glasses for the night. He fixed his mask, then put the black plumed hat on and exited out the portrait hole to meet Alena, who had agreed to come to the ball with him.

He walked down six sets of stairs, then finally rounded the bend to the Charms corridor, where he and Alena had agreed to meet. James thought maybe he needed his glasses back on when he saw her, for she didn't look like the same girl.

Instead, standing in front of him, was a beautiful Medieval princess. Spiral curls flowed from an elegant red scarf that matched her long red dress, and rested softly on her shoulders. Her dress fell in elegant folds to the floor, and were lined with gold ribbon. The dress was off her shoulders, and cut extremely low, revealing more of Alena then he had ever seen before. The dress was tight in the bodice, and accented her curves, most likely meaning there was something like a corset under her dress. James gasped in awe, but immediately pulled himself together, so not to look like a gaping idiot.

"Hey James. Looking quite handsome tonight." Alena smiled. 

"And you look nothing short of beautiful." James grinned as he kissed her hand in a suave like manner. They headed down the Charms corridor and toward the Entrance Hall.

They exited the Entrance Hall amongst the other fifth, sixth, and seventh years, and took a seat on one of the horseless carriages which were taking them to the old theater in Hogsmeade.

"I can't believe you set this all up." Alena told James fondly. She scooted closer in her seat to him and rested her head against his shoulder.

"It wasn't too bad. Lil...er...Evans helped with a lot of it." James answered, catching himself before it sounded like he was on friendly terms with Lily, even if he wasn't. He didn't want anything to ruin the night for him.

"You're so modest." Alena smiled. She sat up, looked James in the eyes, then leaned in and pressed her lips against his. James allowed his hands to run down Alena's back to her waist, where he let them rest. 

With a small bump, the carriage stopped in Hogsmeade. James pulled away, then stepped out of the carriage and extended his hand to Alena, helping her out of the carriage. He then led her up to the old theater, which was now lit up in a ghostly manner. James looked through the crowd in attempts to find Sirius, who had brought Candace. All of a sudden, he caught sight of someone else. 

Some beautiful green eyed, red-haired, beauty of a southern belle. Her dress was off her shoulders a bit, showing her usually hidden creamy skin. Black lace ran across the top of the tight bodice which accented her curves. The skirt was full with several layers of red netting, all ending with black lace. Her hair was up in spiral curls falling down gently onto her neck where a red choker was fastened, and elbow length black satin gloves were on her hands.

James stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Lily. "Jesus." James gasped.

"What is it?" Alena asked looking around for the source of James' distraction. 

"Hey Prongs!" Remus said, coming up to James. He was dressed as a muggle British soldier. "Have you seen Lily?"

"Yeah." James gasped. "Yeah, she's over there." He pointed through the crowd to where Lily was standing, anxiously looking around.

"Wow! She looks gorgeous!" Remus gasped.

'Lucky bastard.' James thought to himself. He turned back to Alena, forced a smile, and led her inside. In the front most room of the old theater, tables of food spread about the room, caterers' bustling about checking that everything was in order. Music was already playing in the room next to them, which was the main stage. James lead Alena in, and they entered onto the stage. The audience seats had been removed, and another floor had been placed for more room to dance. 

Halloween decorations were set around the large room, and the torches were bewitched to burn blue. Small tables with only two seats around them were placed every here and there along the walls of the old theater.

James filed into the theater among the other students, waiting for some indication for the dance to start. Professor Dumbledore finally strode in, dressed as a large, thin bumblebee. He was wearing yellow and black striped robes, with giant wings bewitched to flap back and forth on his back. He even had two antennae coming out of his black wizard's hat. 

Professor McGonagall, dressed as herself, filed in after Dumbledore, along with little Professor Flitwick dressed as a king, crown and all. 

"Welcome students, to Bijou Theater, site of our Halloween Ball." Professor Dumbledore called, his voice magnified to be ten times its usual volume. "Now, may the dance begin!"

James spun Alena around, smiled at her and began to dance to the upbeat music. 

"This is amazing." Alena smiled at all the decorations.

"Great isn't it?" James asked. 

"So, Gryffindor Seeker, my rival," Alena smiled. "Tell me, what is your secret to winning?"

"There is no secret." James grinned.

"There must be. I mean, you win all the time." Alena smiled as James steadily twirled her around the dance floor. Dumbledore was seen close by dancing with an extremely reluctant Professor McGonagall. The rest of the teachers were sitting at the tables located through the theater.

"You want to know my secret?" James grinned, as he heard the song come to an end.

"Yes I do." Alena smiled. James dipped her, her back arching over his arm. James leaned in closer to Alena and whispered,

"The secret, milady, is to be the best." He grinned, as he pulled Alena back up. 

"You're so sure of yourself all the time." Alena said in admiration. "I wish I could be that way."

"It's not worth too much. You're not missing out." James grinned. 

After three songs, he led her off the floor. "I have to dance with Evans really quick." He told Alena. "It's a Head Boy/Head Girl thing. Unavoidable unless we didn't want a dance to take place." James lied.

"All right." Alena shrugged. "I'll just step in her place." She smiled. James wove his way through the dancing couples and found Lily and Remus in the middle.

"Hey Lily. I believe you owe me a dance." James grinned.

Lily looked James up and down in his Zorro costume. She attempted to cover a smile, yet failed. "Is it all right with you?" She asked turning to Remus.

"Uh...sure." Remus answered. Alena took Lily's place as a slow song began to play. James rested his hands around Lily's waist, as she placed her arms around his neck. They began to sway back and forth to the music.

"So how are things with Alena?" Lily asked stiffly. She couldn't believe she had actually agreed to dance with James. Of all people!

"Er, great." James answered. "And with Moony?"

"Oh, fine." Lily answered airily.

"You look...er...very nice tonight." James said, continuing their small talk.

"Thank you." Lily replied rather quickly. "And you don't look too bad yourself." She continued.

"Thanks." James answered gruffly. Without warning, the tempo of the song greatly increased. James reacted rather quickly, and spun Lily out, then pulled her back in and began a more upbeat form of dancing. 

"Quite the dancer, are we?" Lily laughed.

"One could say that." James grinned. "My parents made me take swing dancing lessons summer before our sixth year."

"I love swing dancing!" Lily smiled. "I've taken lessons every summer since I was eight!"

"No kidding." James grinned. "Small world after all, eh?" He laughed.

"Guess so." Lily answered. 

"Not sure if I can do this anymore, but I'll give it a go." James grinned.

"James, whoa, what're you trying?" Lily asked uneasily as James scooped her up. "Oh geez, put me down!" Lily squealed. 

"Come on, I thought you could swing!" James laughed. He spun her around, grabbed her behind his back, then spun her back into a baby cradle. "Think you could handle a flip?" He grinned.

"You're the one who can't handle it." Lily grinned as James pushed her feet over her head. She rotated around his arm, and landed firmly on the ground. "Now that's what I'm talking about." Lily smiled. "And all in a dress." 

  
  


Remus watched from a couple feet away, as Lily and James danced together, looking like they were made just to be dance partners. Remus smiled to himself. Lily really was an excellent dancer. If only he could keep up with her. 

But it looked like James could keep up with her just fine, even give her a run for her money. 'No, don't be stupid. She loves you. She would never choose Prongs over you. Would she?' Remus twirled Alena a couple times as his mind reeled on. 

Sirius clapped Moony on the back. "What happened to Lily?" He laughed. He was dressed as a knight...a knight in shining armor. And by the looks of Candace's long purple gown, she was his damsel in distress. 

"She's dancing with Prongs for a bit."

"Lily and James?" Candace asked, her eyes meeting the sight of Lily and James twirling across the floor. She leaned in and whispered in Sirius' ear. "Look at they way they're looking at each other."

Sirius grunted in response. 

"Think she's falling for him?" Candace whispered, giggling. 

"It's hot in here. Let's go get something to eat." Sirius said loudly. "Catch up with you later Moony." Sirius lead Candace off the floor and out into the lobby area. He grabbed a glass of punch for himself and Candace. A few girls across the room hanging at one of the concessions stands glared at Candace.

"Don't look now, but you have a fan club over by the concession stand who looks like they want to murder me." Candace laughed.

"But we're not even together." Sirius muttered absentmindedly, looking over his shoulder catching a small glimpse at the group of girls. "I mean, we're here together, but not like dating or anything." He said, looking back at Candace, taking a sip of punch.

"Well, I guess you could look at it that way." Candace said, looking at the floor sadly.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked wondering why she had taken to looking at the floor, as if it were more interesting then anything else in the room.

"It's nothing." Candace lied.

"It's not nothing." Sirius answered, raising her chin so she was looking at him, rather then the horribly outdated green carpet. "Tell me what it is. If you don't say anything, how can it be made better." He smiled trying to cheer her up.

"I'm just...never mind." Candace said, blushing slightly.

"Come on, Candace. Is it something I said?" He asked looking concerned. 

"Well...yes." Candace admitted. "It's just, I feel you're being a bit unfair to me, Sirius." Candace said, hoping he wouldn't become upset with her. "You give me all these signs that you like me, but the next minute it's just like we're friends. I don't know what to think when I'm around you." 

Sirius took another sip of punch. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't that. "I don't understand," He answered, trying to buy some time to think of a response to her.

"You understand, Sirius." Candace sighed. "You just don't know how to answer me."

Sirius thought for a moment. "That's what I love about you. You're such a people person, you can tell what people are thinking by their expressions, body language, or by the way they say things." He smiled.

"See, there you go again, saying things that would lead me to believe that you actually have feelings for me, just after you said we were just friends. It's not right, Sirius."

"You think I don't have feelings for you?" Sirius laughed. "Just when I thought you could read minds..."

"Can we get away from here?" Candace asked.

"Uh, sure." Sirius answered. He pushed a door open that revealed a long hallway, with several doors on each side. 

"Just as long as those stupid sixth years aren't watching." Candace said, happy to have some privacy. "So," Candace rounded on Sirius. "If you have feelings for me, then why are we still just friends?" She asked, staring into Sirius' dark eyes. 

"Candace, please. Can we not do this tonight?" Sirius pleaded running a hand distractedly through his black hair, trying to escape answering the question.

"Answer my question, Sirius." Candace said firmly.

Sirius sighed. "I don't know why we're just friends! I guess the timing just isn't right at the moment."

"Why isn't it right?" Candace asked. "Are you with someone? Because the last time I checked, rumor had it you only had your eyes set on me."

"They are only on you." Sirius answered, making Candace's legs go weak. He stared at Candace in awe, as if just really taking in what she looked like. "God you're beautiful." He gasped. Candace smiled meekly.

Sirius put his hand up, and ruffled her mahogany hair, feeling how soft, how smooth it was. Before he could help himself, he leaned in, and pressed his lips to hers for the first time.

  
  


Alena and Remus continued to watch James and Lily dance. "He's a great dancer." Alena remarked with great admiration. 

"Guess so." Remus answered, his jealousy growing. 

After about fifteen more minutes, Alena's admiration disappeared. "Will they EVER stop dancing?" She asked Remus. It must have looked odd to someone else watching. Lily and James, dancing so passionately it looked like they were in love, and Remus and Alena dancing near by, their eyes glued on the scene in front of them.

"Hey, Lily. Want to dance?" Remus asked, pulling away from Alena.

"Oh, after this one, OK?" Lily answered as James twirled her again, both of them completely oblivious to the fact that Alena and Remus were watching with intense jealousy. 

Three songs later, Lily and James continued to dance."I thought you came here with me, not her!" Alena huffed, storming away through the crowd of dancing people.

"What was that about?" James asked Lily and Remus. Remus just rolled his eyes. 

"Come on, Lily." Remus said, pulling her away from James.

"What...?" Lily asked, as she was pulled away. Why did he have to do that? She was having so much fun!

Remus pulled her out of the crowd and into the lobby area. He grabbed a glass of punch and began sipping it through pursed lips, looking thoroughly pissed.

Lily stood in fear, afraid that saying anything might make Remus blow his top. "Remus?" She asked meekly. He whipped to face her, his face twisted with hate.

"What?" He asked, anger dripping from his very words. 

"Are you...OK?" She asked cautiously.

Remus let out a laugh, a cold hard laugh that made Lily cringe. "From what I was watching it looked like you were with James Potter!" He yelled. Several heads turned throughout the lobby, and several people turned to watch the fight, many gathering for entertainment. The thought disgusted Lily.

"What are you talking about?" She asked firmly. "We were just dancing."

"Dancing, making it look like you were together with him. It was in your eyes, and I'm not the only person who saw it."

"That's a blind assumption!" Lily yelled, growing angry. More people were gathering to watch. "You're completely overeating!" 

"I'm not overeating!" Remus yelled. "I saw you out there with him..."

"Moony! You bloody prat!" James yelled pushing his way through the group that had formed. "All of you, sod off!" James yelled, attempting to disperse the people. 

"Moony? Prongs?" Sirius asked, coming back into the lobby, hand in hand with Candace. "What the hell is this?" 

"You must be blind to think that I actually like him!" Lily yelled, motioning to James. A few people who had gathered laughed in amusement. Lily grabbed Remus' hand and pulled him out of the lobby into the hallway that connected to the theaters. James, Sirius and Candace followed. Sirius shut the door behind him.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked. 

"Moony's being a bloody prat thinking that she was cheating on him, basically." James said, glaring at Remus. Sirius let out a bark like laugh. 

"Are you kidding me, Moony?" He laughed. "What would make you think that?"

"I thought I told you to back off of her!" Remus yelled, glaring at James.

"You told him to back off of me?" Lily asked in anger. He didn't trust her judgement? "You didn't trust me enough to know that I wouldn't cheat on you?"

"Well, by the way things were looking your judgement isn't very good."

"My judgement is bad? What about yours, huh? Or have you forgotten?" Lily yelled angrily. Candace pulled her hand away from Sirius and backed into the door.

"Lily, can we please not go there?" Candace begged.

"What?" Sirius asked, looking from Lily, to Candace, to Remus.

"Tell me, Remus. Whose judgement is worse? Who happens to be more faithful then the other?" Lily snapped. 

"This happened a long time ago, Lily..." Remus said, his eyes darting to the door.

"So it can just be dismissed because it happened almost nine months ago? Sorry, but time passage doesn't heal that pain." Lily spat. 

"Then why are you still with me, huh?" Remus asked angrily. "If you were forever scarred then why didn't you get rid of me?" 

"So you want me to get rid of you?" Lily asked, slightly crestfallen. 

"I didn't say that." Remus sighed. He looked extremely tired, almost ill.

"What are you guys going on about?" Sirius and James asked through a blur of words. 

"And why are we the only ones who don't know?" Sirius asked.

"They don't need to know." Candace said loudly.

"Really, they don't." Remus agreed. Candace and Remus avoided making eye contact. 

"Yes we do." Sirius and James insisted. 

"I'll tell you later, James." Lily sighed. Remus' eyes burst into flames.

"Tell him later, huh? During your cozy little tutoring sessions, I suppose?" Remus scowled. "If that's what you really do."

Lily's face burned with anger. She raised her hand and brought it hard across Remus' face. The sound of her hand on his face echoed through the hallway. Everyone fell silent, and Remus lifted his hand and gingerly touched his cheek, where a red hand print was appearing. 

"That's it." Remus said, his voice quaking. "We're through. You can be a whore to that gutter rat if you want." Remus turned and threw the doors open and stormed out. Several faces stared into the hallway as the doors shut slowly. 

His words echoed through Lily's head.... 'That's it. We're through. You can be a whore to that gutter rat if you want....' 

Sirius, Candace and James stared at Lily, silence pressed against Lily's ears. It was almost deafening. 

"Lil?" Candace asked quietly. Lily didn't know how to react. She was still processing what had happened, their whole fight running through her head, right up until the very end where Remus had stormed out of the room. 

Tears began to well in Lily's eyes. She turned on her heel and ran flat down the hallway, disappearing into one of the theaters. 

The three left in the hall stood in silence. "What do we do?" Candace finally asked. 

"I'll kill him..." James growled. "Calling me a gutter rat...and hurting Lily like that."

"I thought you would be happy...I mean, she's free for you now." Sirius said quietly.

"I am against anything that hurts her." James snapped. He followed Lily's track and entered the theater Lily had disappeared into. "Lily..." He said softly, when he saw her standing across the stage by the orchestra pit.

"Haven't you done enough damage yet?" Lily cried. 

"What?" James asked, not expected her to be mad at him.

"If we hadn't danced together, he never would have thought anything of it!" Lily yelled.

"So you're going to blame it on me, now are you? You definitely agreed to dance with me. You can't just blame this all on me!" James said furiously.

"This is an old theater." Lily commented, looking into the pit.

"Yeah, and what of it?" James growled. Lily kicked a piece of old wood that was sitting on the stage into the pit. There was no sound, nothing for about five or six seconds, until a small sound echoed up. 

"The pit's totally rotted out, it connects with the basement now, and has decayed into the ground a bit." Lily said, tears pouring down her face.

"So?" James asked, anger pumping through him that he had gone against his best friend to take Lily's side, and then she had ended up being angry with him anyway.

"You don't leave me alone, I'll jump." She said, stepping toward the pit.

"Whatever." James muttered angrily, turning and kicking the door open. Just as the door closed, he heard a loud scream from inside the theater.

"Lily!" He yelled in shock and spun around, racing back into the theater. Lily was nowhere to be seen.

  
  


Thank you's:

  
  


MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus- Yeah, dating another to get over someone else doesn't work. It just makes you think about the other person even more. Shows you James mentality rate. :-) Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chappie!

YoukaiGryffindor4- I made a goal about a month ago that I would post Lily and James Christmas experience on Christmas, but (Looks at calendar) X-Mas is a week away (Yah!) And I haven't even written the X-Mas part yet. So, I'll be drinking egg-nog in about two weeks celebrating the L/J X-Mas fluff to come! Thanks for reading this first for me! 

pRoNgSmOoNyPaDfOoT- I'm glad you like my story! Yes, Candace and Sirius are cute...too bad I made her up! Oh, and there will be more Harmony to come, don't worry! Thanks for reviewing!

LJstagflower4e- Sorry, I got confused and could only get up to about half of your penname. I hope you liked Lily and Remus' super dramatic break up! And no, they won't be getting back together even if late rit explains Remus wants to...No more L/R! Thanks for reviewing!

JoyaSagrada- Noooo! Sirius! Jamesie! Thanks for reviewing! *Runs after Joya to steal Sirius back* Meh, you can have James. Lol

specially 4 u- I'm glad you decided to review for me! Thanks a bunch! Remus and Lily broke up! I hope you liked how they did! I'm glad you like my plot, but I'd have to say I agree with you. Some stories go nowhere. There is no passage of time, the only events are L/J fluff and more and more fluff that usually ends up making no sense because there's so much of it. Thanks again!

Gryffspopgurl- Yeah, I really don't like those stories where Lily and James are totally OOC. I mean JK could make the characters a little more realistic by following what REAL teenagers are like, but some stories are so over exaggerated it makes you sick. Thanks for the review!

B-a-b-i- Thanks for the review! I really enjoyed writing the pig thing, It made me think of the days when I used to be obsessed with Animorphs...way back when in like third grade. Thanks for putting me on ur favs list! I even got inspired and went and read ur bio! I plan on reading ur story too once I finish the thank-you's! When did you turn 14? I'm 14 too! Perfect age to be...well not really. More like 16, but that's Ok. Only about 1 ½ more yrs for me!

Jillian Ryn- Thank you so much! That's such a nice review! Thank you thank you thank you! I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks again...and again!

Firehottie- Glad you like my story! I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks so much for reviewing!

Gryffindor620- Thanks so much for the review! I hope you liked this chappie! I hope I updated soon enough, can't really remember the last time I updated....

Sasatia- Glad you like my story! Thanks so much for reviewing!

J.E.A.R.Potter- James' luck is about to strike. Of course he'll have to go through a bit of pain due to his loud mouth but....oops! I'm giving away stuff that's supposed to happen later! Thanks for reviewing!

A.M.Bookworm247- I'm glad you like my story! How come you haven't been allowed on a computer? Well, thanks for reviewing!

Mintytoothpick- I like ur penname! It made me laugh. James and Lily will be together rather soon, so I hope you like it! Thanks for reviewing!

KristiexxNguyen- Oh, James hasn't given up on Lily. Not quite yet...not quite ever. Thanks for the review!

Jessie xx- It would be an awesome reality if pigs really could fly. I'm glad you like my story! Thanks so much for reviewing!

SaMBrAT- Thanks for the review! I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks again!

BBLG- Yes, Remus is an annoying prat, isn't he? Hope you liked their whole break up thing! Thanks for reviewing!

Allied-Inspiration- Glad you got your internet back, Pagan! I am very grateful, and honored that you stayed up till 1 o'clock to read this! I find that the best "creative juices" flow in the early hours of the morning, and late hours of night. That's when I do a lot of my writing! I love wasting myself until like four in the morning then sleeping till noon.... Thanks for reviewing!

  
  


Thanks everyone for your reviews! I hope the whole break up think wasn't too OOC. I'm just a fan of drama! Please review and I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!

  
  


Pixie


	11. Marauders Memories

Sorry for the delay of this chapter! The holidays are extremely busy for me! And I apologize that I can't do personal thank yous this time! I'm in Florida now for my Christmas break using my grandparents computer, and I can't take too much time. Good thing I brought this on a floppy disk so I could just pull it up. =D! I hope you like the chapter, and don't forget to review!

  
  


Chapter Eleven

Marauders Memories

  
  


"Lily!" James yelled.

"James!" Her voice came from the pit. "James! Help me!" She called desperately. James ran across the stage and slid the last few feet on his stomach, then looking down into the orchestra pit. Lily was hanging by her just her fingers, dangling in what seemed to be a bottomless pit. 

James reached into the pit and grabbed Lily's arms in attempts to pull her up. Yet the fact that she was 5'7" and at least 120 pounds didn't help at all. James scuffled back, pulling her up a bit so she had her whole arms over the wooden stage, or what was left of it. More wood crumbled off the stage, and James lost his grip, Lily now holding on only to his hands.

"Oh my god!" She screamed in fright, gripping James' hands so tight James thought they might fall off. 

James pulled with all his might, finally lifting her up out of the pit. Lily clung to James, her heart racing. "Oh God..." She gasped in fright. 

"What happened?" James asked eagerly, pulling her a bit away from the edge of the stage.

"The floor fell away, I was too close to the edge." She gasped, nuzzling her head on his shoulder, crying half in fright and pain, and then half emotionally. James couldn't help but think about how wonderful it felt to have her in his arms, even if she was crying on his shoulder. 

"It's OK." James said quietly, stroking Lily's hair. Amazingly, Lily made no objection. "It's going to be alright." He said, still pulling her away from the edge of the stage. "Here, sit down." He said once they were much closer to the wall. Lily obliged, and collapsed onto the stage, James taking a seat next to her. James swept his plumed hat off, and undid his black mask.

Lily, through her tears, looked over to see him, glasses free, mask free, looking at his hat in his hands as bristles of his unruly black hair fell into his warm hazel eyes. 

'I never knew he had such nice eyes...' Lily thought to herself. 'Then again they usually are hidden by his glasses.'

After about a half an hour of silence, and Lily had cried to the point that she could cry no more, James finally spoke.

"What were you, Candace, and Remus talking about?" James asked curiously, hoping it wouldn't upset her.

"Remus and Candace had a, well...sort of affair, I guess you could call it that. Remus and I had been together for a year and I caught them together in your old dormitory." Lily sighed, rubbing her eyes in exhaustion. "That's why Candace and I were fighting for seven months. I refused to believe that Remus would ever do something like that to me, and she refused to take all the blame for it. I realize now she was right. I just didn't want to believe he did it to me willingly, that maybe, by chance, she had bewitched him in some way or another."

James at in silence. How could Remus have wanted more when he was already with Lily? What more could there be in Candace that Lily didn't have? Lily had everything that James wanted! She was perfect for him! Yet whether he was perfect for her or not was an entirely different matter. 

"What time is it?" Lily yawned, wishing the ball was over so she could go back to the castle and collapse in her bed and never wake up...

"Ten o'clock. Still another hour..." James sighed. The door creaked open, and Candace entered the theater.

"Lily?" She asked, seeing Lily sitting with James on the stage.

"Hi Candace." James said quietly. 

"Can I talk to Lily alone?" Candace asked.

"Oh sure." James said, standing up. "I have to take care of something anyway."

"Sirius is just outside." Candace told him.

"All right." James said pushing to door open.

"You OK?" Candace asked Lily.

"Yeah, I think I'm good." Lily sighed.

"Hey Prongs." Sirius sighed. "Great ball, just not great people." 

"Thanks Padfoot." James grinned, feeling a bit sorry for himself that he had co-made a ball in which made he and all he cared about miserable. "Where'd Moony get off to?" James asked curiously.

"He's outside with Wormtail. The worthless prat. Come in just when the trouble starts and try to milk it for all its worth by trying to mediate."

"Come on." James said walking down the hallway towards the lobby.

"Are you kidding me?" Sirius laughed. "Besides, Candace is only in there for a minute. She'll be mad if I leave her."

"Padfoot, they're girls." James said slowly, enunciating every word just to emphasize the stupidity of Sirius. "They can talk for hours and not get tired of it." 

"Eh, you're right." Sirius shrugged, following James. They wove their way through the excited chattering people in the lobby, who unlike them were enjoying themselves. James pushed the outside door open, the brisk autumn air biting at his face. 

Sirius exited through the door as well, and they squinted around in the darkness in attempts to find Peter and Remus. 

They were sitting nearby on the sloping lawns in front of the theater, in a pile of leaves.

"Wormtail! Moony!" Sirius called in the darkness.

"Padfoot?" Remus called.

"Yeah," Sirius said as he and James got closer to them. Remus saw James, then quickly looked past him.

"So, Moony. I'm a gutter rat, now am I?" James asked, gritting his teeth in anger.

"You know I didn't mean it, Prongs." Remus responded quietly.

"Then why did you say it?" James asked firmly.

"I was mad, upset, hurt. I didn't even mean to end things with Lily. She'll never take me back now." Remus said sadly. James couldn't help but lose a little of his anger in spite of his friend. He understood how he felt, a bit. He wanted Lily, and yet there was something in front of him, something that prevented him from having her. But James didn't care too much, since he had wanted Lily for years.

"You overreacted, you know." James snapped.

"I did not overreact. You don't come to a bloody ball with someone then dance for over an hour with their best mate!" Remus said angrily through gritted teeth. 

"You've never been the jealous type, Moony." Sirius said quietly.

"I've never had anything to be jealous of." Remus said, running his hands through his hair. James glanced up at the moon. It was close to full.

"Full moon next week." James said quietly.

"Trust me, I know more then you." Remus growled. "You think I can't feel it?"

"I didn't say werewolves can't feel it when a full moon's coming. I was simply stating a fact." James snapped.

"Someone's a bit testy tonight." Remus snapped in return. 

"I'm the testy one? I'm sorry but I didn't totally chew out my friend and dump my girlfriend calling her a whore." James answered angrily.

"For one thing, you couldn't get a girlfriend that would last more then a week, and stop reminding me!" Remus yelled.

"Both of you, shut up." Sirius ordered. James was ready to retort, but he stopped by the pained look on Sirius' face. 

"Just remember that we've all been best mates for the last six and a half years." Peter squeaked. 

James thought for a moment. Memories of their previous years flooded into his head, and he couldn't help but smile at the thought of them. 

"Moony was such a prat when we first met him." Sirius laughed.

"Enough of that." Remus answered, laughing a bit too. "God that was funny." James said, laughing a bit harder.

  
  


~*~*~*~

  
  


Sirius and James entered the Gryffindor Common Room, just having been sorted, looking around in awe. 

"This will be your Common Room for the next seven years to come." The Head Boy said. He had a rather large nose, a long mane of shaggy brown hair, and small, dark beady eyes. "Boys dormitories up the left stair case and to your left. Girls dormitories of the right staircase and to your right. I'm your Head Boy for this year, if you have any questions you can ask me. I'm Alastor Moody, by the way." He grinned. 

James grinned as he admired the large Common Room with many squishy red couches placed around the Common Room. "I think I'm gonna like it here." James said to Sirius. Sirius nodded in agreement. James strode over to one of the couches by the staircase to the boys dormitories and took a seat, yet found there was already someone sitting there.

"Ouch!" The person squeaked. James quickly jumped up to see a small brown haired boy with watery black eyes that seemed to dart around the room nervously.

"Sorry about that!" James said quickly. 

"It's all right." The boy squeaked, jumping up from the couch. He was at least half a foot shorter then James, who was only 4'8" at the time. "I'm Peter. Peter Pettigrew." The boy squeaked, extending a pudgy hand.

"James Potter." James answered, shaking his hand.

"Sirius Black." Sirius said, shaking the boy's hand as well. 

"AHHHHHH!" A scream came from the staircase. James turned around just in time to be crashed into by someone who seemed to have gotten quite a bit of air falling down the stairs.

"OUCH!" James yelled in pain as he was knocked to the floor. He gasped in pain as the other boy landed on him, crunching him against the floor.

James winced in pain, tears forming in his eyes. 'Don't you dare cry...' James thought to himself. The boy rolled off, and James groaned as he turned over to see the other person. He had sandy brown hair, and chocolate brown eyes. He looked quite a bit bigger then James, taller, and a bit larger framed. Probably an older student, James assumed.

"We got a first year!" A triumphant voice came from up the stairs as two boys pulled a broomstick out of the hallway area. They bounded down the stairs.

"You two all right?" The other one asked, looking concerned. "They weren't supposed to get hurt you prat." He said glaring at the other boy. 

"I think I cracked a rib." James gasped.

"I think I did too." The other boy groaned. 

"What's this?" Alastor Moody asked, coming over looking at James and the other boy laying on their backs on the floor. "Mundungus Fletcher, Dedalus Diggle? You aren't tormenting first years again are you? Blimey, after five years of it, I would think you would've gotten sick of it." Moody laughed.

"We'll never get enough of it." One laughed.

"Yeah, well we've never injured one before." The other said, still glaring. "Here." He said extending his hand to James. "Dedalus Diggle. And this git is Mundungus Fletcher." Mundungus Fletcher helped the other boy up.

James was breathing in sharp gasps. "I seriously think I broke a rib."

"Well, off to the hospital wing then. Madam Pomfrey does wonders for broken bones, I'll have you know." Moody laughed. "I've got these two to take care of."

"I think I'll come." The other boy said. "Where is it?"

"Just off of the Great Hall. Down the corridor, third door to the left." Moody answered. James hobbled to the portrait hole, holding his ribs in pain, as the other boy followed him. Sirius and Peter remained in the Common Room, fighting the urge to burst out laughing.

"I'm Remus Lupin." The boy gasped. "Really sorry about that. I walked out of the dormitory and there was a broomstick in the middle of the corridor. I didn't see it and just flew down the stairs."

"James Potter. And it's all right." He gasped. "She just better be able to fix this because I'm starting to not be able to breathe."

  
  


*~*~*~*~*

  
  


"Two broken ribs." James laughed.

"One cracked rib. Don't know how that happened. I was the one who flew down the stairs." Remus laughed.

"Yeah, well you crunched me against the floor. It's called inertia my dear friend. You went up in an arc, gained speed, collapsed on me and the obvious effect was pain." James laughed.

"I'm sorry I said everything I did." Remus sighed. "It just hurts to see the person you love with your best mate."

"She's not with me." James replied. 

"I want her back, but I can't have her." Remus continued, ignoring James' comment. "She'll either hate me, or be too upset to look at me, or just move on. Besides, after all she said, I can't go and ask her to be with me again. And after all I said."

"I can't believe you cheated on her." James said, shaking his head in disgust.

"Come again?" Sirius asked.

"That's what he, Lily, and Candace were talking about. He cheated on Lily with Candace."

"What is up with this?" Sirius asked. "All my mates have fooled around with Candace Daily before I have!"

"I haven't." Peter squeaked.

"Wormtail, you date rats, not girls." Sirius answered.

"Hey!" Peter replied. James and Remus sniggered quietly. 

"Candace was drunk when she messed around with me." James laughed. "Thanks to you. And you haven't done anything with her anyways since you don't have the balls." 

"We messed around a bit tonight." Sirius defended. "But honestly, that girl has been playing hard to get all year! She wouldn't do anything with me even if I tried. Then she went into this whole thing about how I was being unfair to her by misleading her making her think I liked her one minute, and the next we were just friends. It was so weird." Sirius laughed.

"Are you dating her?" Remus asked.

"No."

"Then maybe that's where you're misleading her." James answered.

"I'm not taking advice from any of you." Sirius laughed. "The two of you have been obsessed with the same girl for over a year, and Wormtail, well, if I ever need to know how to charm a rat, I'll ask."

"Stop it!" Peter squeaked. 

"So, are we mates again?" Sirius grinned.

"Marauders for life." James grinned reluctantly, still angry with Remus for hurting Lily. 

  
  


"So, what're you thinking about?" Candace asked.

"Who cares." Lily sighed. "Nothing. I'm thinking about absolutely nothing." Lily lied. They sat a few moments in thought. "He saved my life, Candace." She finally said.

"What?" Candace asked, her head whipping to face Lily.

"The floor gave in and I slipped. He ran back in and pulled me out."

"Who did?"

"James." Lily answered, rubbing her eyes in exhaustion. "I don't know why I'm thinking about him. Especially after..." Lily sighed. She wasn't taking her break up very well at all. "I don't know what I expected." Lily said, starting to cry again. "I came here with Remus, then left him to dance with James for at least half an hour. I don't know why I didn't see it then. I was just so wrapped up in the moment I didn't even think about it." 

"Lil, don't cry again." Candace said softly. 

"I can't help it." Lily yelled in frustration. "I feel so awful. I wish I could relive today. I would do it all different."

"Would you?" Candace asked. "I don't want to make you upset by saying this, but Sirius and I were watching you and James dance. It looked like you were meant for each other. And there was just this way you were looking at each other...it was like true love." Candace sighed at the thought.

"You don't believe that I like James, do you?" Lily asked, her eyebrows raised.

"I don't know." Candace shrugged. "Only you can be the judge of that." Candace looked at her watch. "It's almost eleven. The carriages should be here any minute to take up back to school." Candace stood herself up and brushed her purple gown off. 

Lily stood up as well, fixing the different layers of her long southern belle costume. "I'm sorry, Candace. I feel like I was being selfish now, making you stay with me when you could've been with Sirius."

"No, it's all right. Friends are supposed to be there for friends in need." Candace smiled. "Besides, due to the lax security for tonight, we're going to slip away somewhere in Hogsmeade." Candace grinned.

"But how will you get back to the school?"

"Sirius must know a way." Candace laughed.

"Well, you'll have to tell me how things go." Lily forced a smile, not wanting to make Candace feel bad due to Lily's misery.

  
  


An hour later, Lily collapsed into her bed, so exhausted she drifted right off to sleep. However, sleep didn't find James that easily. He tossed around in his bed thinking, wondering, wishing. 

When he thought of the events of that night while laying there in his bed, he only then realized how horrible it was to Remus that he had basically taken his girlfriend during a dance, and refused to give her back. James sat up in his bed, and began to pace the familiar track around his bedroom. 

"I can't believe I did that to my best mate." James sighed, running his hands through his hair. "But all at the same time she agreed to do it. I can't take all the blame." James sighed. "But a lot of the blaming deserves to be on me. I shouldn't have even asked her to dance. Why is everything my fault?" He asked himself.

He sighed, and paced back and forth about five times before he spoke to himself again. "Well, tomorrow night's a full moon. I can make part of it up to Moony by just being there for him, when he needs it the most."

Early in their Hogwarts career, James and Sirius, after much poking around, had discovered that Remus was a werewolf. Every month he disappeared for about three days, saying his grandmother was ill, or his parents needed him home for various reasons. After a while, James and Sirius stopped buying it. Peter, on the other hand, stood up for Remus, telling Sirius and James off for poking and prodding, saying there was nothing to find.

But finally they found out, and Remus confessed. But instead of deserting him, like Remus thought they would, they helped him by becoming unregistered Animagus' in which they could accompany him during his werewolf escapades. So every month during the full moon, Sirius, James and Peter would turn into their Animagus forms and run wild on the grounds with Remus, of course keeping him under check as they went. In animal form, the most harm Remus could do to them was break skin. 

James paced back and forth. "Is it so bad that I want her the way I do?" He sighed. "Every minute I'm thinking about her. I thought going with Alena would make me get over her, but it only made me think of her even more."

"I wish she cared about me like I care about her." James sighed. "And I still got that damn bet with Sirius. He's gonna ridicule me when we graduate and the bet won't even be in play. What a dumb bet to agree to." James sighed. Sleep finally found James around five in the morning.

  
  


Sorry the whole making up thing was so quick to happen, kind of rushed. But I really have to get moving on to the next few things in this story, or I'll be wasting time on useless fighting! Next chapter-Full moon! What will happen then? Only I know, but you will find out when I post it...in a while...once it's edited. Please review! I really appreciate it and it keeps me going!


	12. A Prank Well Planned

Wow, this chappie took me forever! But I'm finally home from Florida so I now have my own computer back instead of having to share with my mom, dad, sister, grandma, and grandpa. On one line. Anyways, I will probably go back and edit this chapter in the near future. Nothing big, just commas, periods, sentence structure. I think there's something slightly wrong with this chapter, but I'm not quite sure what it is yet. Maybe you guys can help me in a review? *hint hint* Personal thank you's at the bottom!

  
  


Chapter Twelve

A Prank Well Planned

  
  


"Settle down, class." Professor McGonagall snapped. "Today will be a difficult lesson, and I doubt anyone will be able to master it before the end of the class. Therefore, if you don't master it, you must practice it several times until you can achieve it for our next class.

"Today, we will be transfiguring other people into animals. This must be done with utmost caution, as a blundering student turned his partner into a legless skunk yesterday that could not be changed back to normal by a charm and had to spend five hours in the hospital wing while Madam Pomfrey came up with a counter potion."

Several students in the class laughed, causing Professor McGonagall to purse her lips together dangerously. 

"You may find it amusing, but I will warn you that it is very painful when the spell goes wrong. You will split into partners which I have already chosen for you. Read the board to find your partner." She said, pointing her wand to the chalk board, and about ten lines appeared in a curly cursive writing with two names on each line. Lily looked up, and realized she was partnered with James. 'Great.' She thought, though a smile spread across her lips. 'This could be...fun." She thought.

"The spell you will be using is Plylactin. Ply-lahk-tin." Professor McGonagall sounded out. "This will transform your partner into either a skunk, racoon, or badger, depending on the way the spell is performed. Please separate into your groups, and start to transform each other." 

Lily pulled herself up and walked over to James, forcing a look of utmost unwillingness on her face.

"Why the down face?" James grinned. "I'm your partner after all." He said arrogantly. 

"That happens to be the reason for the down face." Lily retorted.

"Ouch." James grinned.

"Shut up and pay attention." Lily lifted her wand. "Plylactin." She said clearly. Nothing happened. Not even a slight breeze erupted from her wand.

"I'll try." James said, losing his arrogance. "Plylactin." He said. "Playlactin...Plulactin..."

"James, stop it! I don't fancy being a legless skunk for the next five hours!" Lily whined. "Plylactin." She said aiming at James. Still nothing. The class was scattered, all yelling "Plylactin!" then tapping their wands in dismay as if the reason they couldn't produce the spell was due to a malfunction of their wands. 

"Did I not warn you that it would be difficult?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking slightly amused.

Lily groaned. Things weren't supposed to be that difficult! "Plylactin!" She said loudly. "Plylactin, Plylactin, Plylactin!" She was beginning to get very frustrated.

"Settle down, just because you can't get it on the first try like everything else..." James teased.

Lily glared at him. "Plylactin!" She yelled. With a loud "pop!" James was replaced by a racoon with black markings around his eyes, just like his glasses.

Professor McGonagall looked deeply impressed. "Well done Miss Evans." She said, giving her the rare smile that was usually reserved for her, as she usually got everything on the first try. With a swish of Professor McGonagall's wand, James the racoon was replaced with James as himself. 

He grinned. "Finally mastered it, my sweet." He said, aiming his wand at her.

"My sweet? Is that what you called me?" Lily laughed. "Losing your touch, aren't you, Potter?" 

"Losing my touch? I shouldn't think so. Plylactin!" He called, yet still nothing happened. "We can add that to the list for tutoring." He grinned, tossing his wand aside and sitting down, resting his feet on the table.

"Thank you, but I wouldn't like to be turned into a...a badger in my spare time!" Lily huffed.

James stood, came close to Lily and whispered in her ear, "I don't believe you would be a badger. I think a skunk would suit you very well instead."

"A skunk am I?" Lily hissed. "Who would ever care for a skunk?" She asked without thinking. 

"Come on, didn't you ever read Bambi?" James grinned, stepping back from Lily.

"Bambi? You know about Bambi and you can't even pass Muggle Studies?" Lily asked cynically.

"I read it in a book." James responded. "Even Flower found a true love. Flower, Lily Flower." James said quietly, grinning as he looked into her beautiful green eyes.

"What did you call me?" Lily asked, rather taken aback.

"Lily Flower. Suiting, isn't it?" James grinned. 

"Very." Lily sighed, as she turned her face away from him. Only her mother ever called her Lily Flower, Lily Flower as a form of affection. 'God this is starting to scare me.' Lily thought. 

Candace approached Lily, and pulled her out of earshot from James. "How's it going, lover girl?"

"Lover girl? Where did that come from?" Lily asked doubtfully.

"Oh, so you're going to play innocent, now are you? I saw you flirting with James Potter. Shamelessly."

"Shamelessly? That's hardly something to joke about, Candace!" Lily gasped. 

"Think what you want. Sirius saw it too." Candace grinned.

Lily grimaced. "Candace, has he asked you out yet?" Lily asked.

"Well, no." Candace said blushing slightly.

"Then when it comes to a matter of flirting and affection, I don't trust Sirius Black." Lily laughed. 

The bell signaling the end of class rang with a clatter, causing Lily to jump slightly. She shoved her books into her bag quickly, and made for the door. 

"Shamelessly flirting? You've degraded me, Candace." Lily laughed.

"Everyone falls into his trap. The trap of James Potter." Candace joked. "I fell into it. I had about six shots of fire whisky before that thanks to Sirius, but I was pulled in by his, well, charm." Candace laughed.

"Charm? You wouldn't be talking about me, now would you?" Sirius asked, wrapping his arms around Candace from behind. Candace winced at his touch.

"Sirius, no." Candace ordered. "I'm sick of being your party favor." She said, pushing his arms off of her, then turning to face him.

"Party favor?" Sirius asked with a raised brow.

"That's all I've ever been to you." Candace said, her voice shaking. She turned away from Sirius and quickly made her way down the corridor back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Lily couldn't help but feel awful. She was almost positive she had stirred those emotions to make Candace act the way she did when she mentioned it in Transfiguration.

Sirius groaned and ran his hands through his hair. Lily watched, not sure what to do. Follow Candace, or walk away and mind her own business. "I need help." He finally said quietly. "And you know her best." 

"What?" Lily asked, amazed that Sirius, the one who knew the way into any girls heart would now be asking for help. 

"Trust me, I never thought I would stoop so low to ask a girl for help." Sirius said, looking up, his dark eyes full of pain.

"Watch it or you won't get any help at all." Lily snapped. "Go on a walk?" She asked, looking down the corridor towards the Entrance Hall.

"Sure." Sirius answered. Lily hoisted her bag up onto her shoulder and walked down the corridor, then pushed the great oak doors open, the cold air rushing onto her face.

"I just don't know what she wants." Sirius muttered, seeming rather embarrassed. 

"I think she's made it really clear what she wants." Lily answered firmly. Inside, she was laughing hysterically that Sirius Black was asking her for help. Her of all people. 

"She has?" Sirius asked, looking up from the ground.

"How many times has she said to you that she wants to be with you?" Lily said taking the words easily so not to offend him for his stupidity. Then again, there were some guys in every generation that could read a tree better then they could read a girl. 

"I don't know." Sirius answered, sounding frustrated.

"She's said it at least five times that I've heard of."

"Well, she can do something about it. Why do I have to do it?"

"Candace is doing nothing wrong. She told you exactly what she wanted, and that is for you to ask her out."

"And then I'm tied down to one chick for a month at least." Sirius groaned.

"Sirius, wake up. You've been wrapped around her finger for the last five. You are no longer the womanizer of the school since you fell for her. Just make it official and get it over with." Lily laughed. Sirius Black was going soft!

"Yeah right. Easier said then done." Sirius answered. They turned and headed back to the school in silence, and as they reached the front lawn, they saw an interesting sight, at least interesting for Sirius, and maddening for Lily.

"Snivellus." Sirius hissed. He dropped his bag, pulled out his wand and called, "Stupefy!" 

"Thanks for that." James answered, lowering his wand. "Stupid git got me from behind."

Severus Snape, the nosy, hook nosed, greasy black haired boy who had been rivals with the Marauders ever since the first day at Hogwarts lay crumpled up in a heap on the browning grass. Snape was nothing but a nuisance, to everyone. Even Lily had to admit he was a creep, though she wasn't about to let James get off for fighting. 

"Fighting?" Lily shrieked. "James, you get back inside now before McGonagall catches you! You're Head Boy! You should know better then that!" 

'What kind of idiot is he?' Lily seethed. 'Get caught and he could get the both of us in trouble!'

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it and go inside." Sirius ordered in a condescending tone, advancing towards Snape.

"Don't talk to me like that, you pig!" Lily yelled. "That's so patronizing, but what more could I expect from you, Sirius Black?"

"Lily, go inside." James ordered, looking up at her, his eyes softening.

"Why? So you can just have your pride by beating him again? Oh, but don't you want an audience so the victory is just a bit sweeter?" Lily snapped. "Just because you can beat him doesn't mean you have the right to pick fights!"

"I'm not picking a fight, he attacked me from behind!" James insisted.

"So you're just too much of a coward to walk away from him, because heaven forbid a miscreant like Severus Snape would think you're a coward. And he would jeer you and egg you on to pick another fight. That's your nightmare isn't it? People thinking you're a complete and total prat!"

"Go inside." James ordered, his voice low and firm.

"Why? What difference will it make to you? Don't you want me to praise you for winning? That's all you ever wanted, praise. It's disgusting. You're disgusting. You make me sick, Potter. Get a backbone." Lily snapped, turning on her heel and striding back into the castle.

"Dammit." James cursed under his breath. "She's right."

"I hate it when she's right." Sirius muttered.

"I'm out of here. There's better things to do." James said quietly, turning to go back into the school.

Lily was standing in the Entrance Hall leaning against one of the stone walls looking shattered. James looked at her, then continued through the castle back to the Gryffindor Common room, though she appeared to not have seen him.

Finally the portrait of the Fat Lady appeared at the end of the hallway. "Password?" She asked.

"Chocolate Frog." James muttered. She swung forward to admit James into the Common Room. He collapsed onto the couch closest to the fire next to Candace, who was looking equally as depressed.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked.

"Nothing. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." She answered. "I'm just his stupid party favor. He doesn't even care about me, does he?"

"He sure as hell does." James muttered.

"What's really wrong with you?" Candace asked, sighing.

"I'm a coward and I have no backbone." James answered, sighing as well. 

"According to Lily?" She asked, knowing the answer.

"How'd you know?" James asked sarcastically. 

"What did you do this time?"

"Snape. What else?"

"You haven't grown out of that yet?" Candace asked, eyebrow raised.

"Don't preach to me too." James sighed. "Sirius is still out there being a so-called coward with no backbone." James answered.

"He'll do whatever he's going to do. No one can stop him. I didn't think anyone could stop you either, but apparently Lily can."

"Great." James muttered. "She still hates me."

"No, she doesn't hate you." Candace answered. "I actually think you're growing on her." Candace smiled.

"Right." James muttered, staring into the fire. Sirius burst into the Common Room.

"Snape is about to become a Moony." He grinned at James.

"What?" James looking up, being brought back to his senses.

"I just gave Snape a little prod towards Moony tonight." Sirius grinned, looking out the window where a milky white full moon was raising in the blue sky.

  
  


Well, I'm slightly depressed. For chapter ten I got 30 reviews. And I was like on top of the world (for the moment.) But then chapter 11 go t15 reviews, half the amount of chapter ten. So how about I go back on top of the world and all you people review and make me super happy!

  
  


Goddess of Gorgeousness- Yes, I thought it was a tad rushed too, but I was too lazy to fix it! Thanks for reviewing!

B-a-b-i- Happy New Year to you as well! The Marauders are friends for life (minus Peter, but it's all good) Thanks so much for reviewing!

XxGinnyxx- I luv winking smilies! Thanks for reviewing!

MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus- Well, what can I say, almost every guy is an asshole of some sort before they grow up. (Note the almost...I can be proved wrong! And have been on several occasions!) Oh! I noticed the Aragorn tacked on the end! I love him! He's so hot! But did you know the guy who played him, Viggo Mortensen is like 45? I think that ruins him. But Aragorn in the movie is still super sexy!

A.M.Bookworm247- Yeah, sounds difficult to do homework without a computer! Thanks for the super nice review! Ahh, that made me feel so special! Thanks again!

YoukaiGryffindor4- Yes, ff.net has been doing that to me lately saying I already reviewed when I really haven't and all that jazz. About Moody being Head Boy I was like, hmm, who's older then them for sure, knows them, and has a really good career for smart people, and he just popped into my head. Thanks for reviewing, and keep your other stories up!

Phoebe-H- I'm really glad you liked it! Thanks so much for reviewing!

Firehottie- Glad you like my story! Thanks sooo soooo much for reviewing!

Joya Sagrada- *Takes Sirius back.* You can keep James! Mmm...Sirius. Eh emm...scuse me, sorry, back to thanking you for reviewing! Thanks so much!

Jessie xxx- Glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing!

Allied-Inspiration- I've lost my values about being faithful in relationships since my best friend which I met five months ago is about the most unfaithful person in the world. I do apologize for that. I don't really see it as much of a crime anymore. But oh well, Remus grows out of it o' course! Thanks for reviewing! (Oh, I love talking on the phone too! I can go for hours! Us girls...lol)

charmed-ireland- Well, the full moon thingy hasn't really happened yet, but it was a set up! Hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

KristiexxNguyen- Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked it!

The-Anime-chick-wit-style- Oh my, that's a mouthful! Thanks for the review, and I definitely will check out your stories tomorrow (As it is 2:10 in the morning, my inspiration comes at night. Late at night.) When I have the time! Thanks again!

Cho-Look-Alike- Waaaaa! Sorry, I'm continuing to cry for everyone. Oh well, I think they're happy now, for a while at least. Thanks so much for reviewing!

  
  


Thanks everyone who reviewed, and please send a review my way for this chappie! Thanks again!

Pixie


	13. Full Moon Follies

A/N: I am soooo sorry this took so long! The A drive in my computer died and I have the internet on my mom's computer, so I haven't been able to transfer it. So now I have to get the bloody sucker fixed. So you better appreciate this chapter a lot! I had to print it off of my computer and completely re-write it onto my moms! Oh yes, and reviews would be wonderful! :-)

  
  


Chapter Thirteen

Full Moon Follies

  
  


"You did what?" James asked Sirius in shock, lowering his voice so no one else in the Common Room could hear. Candace watched intently. 

"Just prodded him in the right direction towards Remus." Sirius grinned. 

"Prodded?" James growled. He pulled Sirius up the stairs and into his old dormitory slamming the door shut behind him. "Do you realize how dangerous Remus is when he's a werewolf?! He can't harm us because we turn into animals as well, but he could kill Snape!"

"And rid the world of quite a hassle." Sirius beamed, obviously very proud of himself. 

"And rid Hogwarts of the Marauders as well!" James said angrily. He paced around the dormitory. "I've got to stop him!" James said, moving quickly to the door.

"Nah, let Remus have a little fun with him first. Please?" Sirius begged.

"Sirius, what happened to your common sense? That's murder since you pushed Snape towards Remus, and murder is life in Azkaban, wand snapped in half, and needless to say expulsion!"

"Oh come on, it won't be that bad." Sirius said, his smile now non-existent on his face.

"I've got to stop him, and I've got to stop him now!" James strode across the room and threw the door open, pulling it so hard it slammed against the wall and rang throughout Gryffindor tower. 

He marched through the students in the Common Room, who were staring at him like he was a maniac, and pushed the portrait hole open and slammed it shut behind him.

"Honestly!" The Fat Lady shrieked. "Don't even apologize!"

"Shut up you stupid piece of pastel." James growled under his breath. He broke into a run down the corridors towards the Entrance Hall, and checked his watch impatiently. It was eight twenty. Snape was due at the Whomping Willow at any moment, and James had missed dinner. His stomach rumbled impatiently. 

"James?" A voice came from behind him. James stopped in his tracks, and sighed impatiently. Any more time and Snape might be dead. He turned to face Lily, whose face was stern and unforgiving. 

"Where are you going? We have rounds soon." She said, her hands firmly on her hips. 

"I'm not feeling so good." James lied quickly. "I was actually off to the Hospital Wind."

"But the Hospital Wing is that way." Lily said, eye brow raised as she pointed in the opposite direction.

"Dilly me." James muttered sarcastically. "Must have forgotten with this headache of mine." 

Lily's eyes searched him up and down. "You're not sick, Potter." She said firmly. "Where are you going? You don't come to rounds then we'll both get in trouble!" Lily insisted.'

"Lily, listen to me. I've got to go. Time is running out for me, and I don't want to even think of what will happen if I run out of time." He turned and continued towards the Entrance Hall. 

"Potter, where are you going?" Lily demanded, her voice loud, firm, and angry.

"Run along, Evans." James snapped impatiently.

"You'll never learn, will you?" Lily asked heatedly. "Tell me, Potter. Did you win against Snape? Are you going off now to drag his dead body into the forest and bury it?"

James groaned and turned to face Lily in exasperation. "I didn't fight him. I listened to you and left. Look! Get out of here! Do mind your own business! Get a life and stop worrying about mine!" James yelled. "I am running out of time. I have to go. You can't follow me. Leave." James ordered, hurrying away.

Lily stopped in her tracks. 'The nerve of him!' She thought furiously. 'How dare he insult me like that?! I'll find out what he's up to, and I'll make him pay for it, whatever it is. And to think he was actually growing on me! Just goes to show you Potter will never change! He will always be the same mindless, arrogant, big-headed prat who can never be trusted!' Lily waited until he disappeared around the corner before following him, full of determination. 

'I was too harsh on her.' James thought. 'Damn me, I was too harsh. I insulted her! God she's beautiful. But I probably hurt her. The look on her face. She'll never want to talk to me again...God I love her...' James stopped his thoughts. 'More important things to worry about.' He forced himself to think. 

He pushed the grand oak doors open and hurried outside. Once outside, he broke into a full out run, moving as fast as his legs could carry him. Which he had to admit was pretty fast. 

Finally the Whomping Willow loomed in the distance, and there was Snape, holding a long branch. He prodded the knot on the tree causing it to freeze in place.

"Snape!" James bellowed. "Stop! Don't go down there!" He called. Snape just laughed, a high pitched cold laugh, and strode into the tree.

"Christ." James cursed. Things were going to be a lot more difficult then he wanted them to be. He ran to the tree and grabbed the same long stick, prodded the knot, and followed Snape into the tree.

"Where the hell did he go?" Lily asked impatiently. She was able to keep up with him running, but almost instantly, he had disappeared after yelling a few words to Snape. At least Potter hadn't killed Snape. 

Lily peered around frantically in the darkness trying to find him. Finally the clouds shifted revealing a full and beaming moon just in time for Lily to see a branch as think as a python swinging in her direction.

"Ohmigod!" Lily screamed. She bolted in attempts to escape, but the tree branch lashed her, knocking her to the ground blood oozing from her shoulder.

Meanwhile:

James chased after Snape who was already a great deal ahead of him. He rounded the corner and saw Snape at the end of the hall turning into the room that Remus transformed in. 

"No!" James yelled, hurtling after him. He finally reached Snape, but it was too late. He had entered the room, and Remus was advancing on him, hackles raised and yellow inch long teeth bared, ready to strike. "Don't move." James hissed to Snape.

"What do you think I am, an idiot? Of course I'm not moving!" Snape growled. James slowly reached into his pocket for his wand, Remus still advancing on them.

A loud howling bark came from somewhere in the building. Sirius was coming. But James didn't have enough time to wait for Sirius to fight Remus off, and he couldn't transform. Snape was already going to have a field day knowing that Remus was a werewolf. 

Snape whipped his wand out. "Stupify!" He called, sending a jet of red light towards Remus. It struck Remus in the muzzle, and caused him to howl in agony. 

"You idiot! You can stun a werewolf by yourself!" James cursed to himself. Remus pounced onto Snape, a whirl of gray and black hair, claws and hands rolling across the musty green floor.

"Get off him, Remus!" James yelled, trying to bring human senses back to Remus. He pulled his wand out. "Impedimenta!" He called. It was going to be very hard to stop Remus by magic. Werewolves were protected by a strong form of magic which is what made them transform every full moon. "Impedimenta! Stupify! Impedimenta!" James yelled, his voice growing hoarse.

Remus froze. Finally the spell had worked. Snape untangled himself from Remus and jumped to his feet.

"Did he bite you?" James asked frantically.

"No." Snape gasped, dusting himself off. 

"Get out, now!" James ordered.

"No need to be hasty, Potter." Snape growled. "The spell will last at least a minute or two."

"Not on a werewolf!" James yelped as Remus jumped to his feet and pounced on him.

"Remus! Stop!" James roared, hands firmly clasped around Remus's neck to keep him from biting him. 

The door burst open, and Sirius bounded in, attaching his jaws around Remus's throat, pulling him off of James with a force that was unimaginable. James raised his wand. "Stupify! Stupify! Stupify!" He bellowed. "Stupify!" The fourth jet of red light hit Remus, and he finally fell limply to the ground. Sirius pulled away, and bounded out of the room away from James and Snape.

"Didn't think you could have ever given me a hand there, did you?" He growled.

"Sod off, Potter." Snape growled, but a satisfied sort of smirk was plastered on his face. "So, this is Remus Lupin's secret. He's a werewolf."

"Get out." James growled, wand pointed at Snape's face.

"You know Potter, you don't scare me." Snape growled, pulling his own wand out.

"Get the hell out." James roared, his temper flaring.

"Just admit it, Lupin's a werewolf and I'll leave." Snape growled quietly. James had enough. He raised his fist and brought it hard across Snape's face, knocking him to the ground blood flowing freely from his nose.

"Get the fuck out!" James yelled. Snape cursed under his breath standing to his feet. "I don't want to fight you, Snape." James sighed. "Get out or I'll curse you."

"Terrified, trust me, Potter." Snape growled. "But this one's without magic." He hit James square in the nose, breaking the bridge of his glasses and knocking him to the floor. James' face seared with pain, it felt like the bridge of his nose was broken. 

"Dammit, Snape!" James yelled angrily, standing to his feet tapping his glasses to fix them. "I don't want to fight you!" 

"Because you know you'll lose." Snape laughed with the same satisfied smirk on his face. He prepared to throw another punch at James when Sirius bounded into the room and pounced on him, knocking him off his feet. James sighed in relief.

Sirius growled in anger, his teeth bared merely inches away from Snape's face. Snape threw Sirius off of him mutely and ran full out away from him, and out of the room.

Meanwhile:

Lily sat outside shivering in the brisk November night. Where had Potter gone? When would he be back? How much longer would she have to sit there waiting, her shoulder searing in pain?

Finally a dark figure appeared out of the Whomping Willow. By the light of the full moon, Lily was able to identify him as Snape, and he was running as fast as his gangly little legs could carry him. "What on Earth are they doing in the Whomping Willow?" Lily muttered quietly, waiting. James couldn't be far behind. 

Finally, nearly a half hour later, two more figures appeared. James and Sirius. Where had Sirius come from? How did he get down there? Lily stood up from the wet grass and followed far enough behind to not be heard, but close enough so she could hear what James and Sirius were talking about. 

"Great appreciation I get for saving his ass." James growled. 

"Snape's a git. What more do you expect from someone like him?" Sirius agreed.

"You are the biggest moron I have ever met." James told Sirius, shaking his head in disgust. "Getting him to chase after Remus. We've got to tell Dumbledore he knows." 

"Does Dumbledore even know that we know?" Sirius asked. What in God's name were they talking about?

"I'm sure he does. And if no one has told him, he would figure since we're with him all the time."

"It was a good plan at the time. You bailed on me and wouldn't fight him."

"Lily was right, I shouldn't fight him just to beat him. Besides. It was two to one. Not fair."

'I was right?' Lily thought wildly, continuing to follow after them.

Sirius was quiet for a long while.

"What's wrong with you?" James asked.

"Nothing, it's just you've finally grown up and I haven't. I don't want to either. I liked those old days where we would run around the school every full moon, attack Snivellus just for the pure thrill of it, and the Marauders Map. Come on. Those were the best days when we made that. Who has it by the way?"

"It's in the bottom of my trunk." James answered. What was the Marauder's Map? "The old days were fun, but I have grown up. I just can't see that being as fun anymore."

"Dammit!" Sirius yelled. "We're all splitting up. Peter is never around, wherever the hell he goes, I have no idea. Remus is still pissed about breaking up with Evans so he's a bit depressed, and you're growing up."

Lily's heart skipped a beat. Remus was upset about their breakup? But he was the one who dumped her! Why did he care?

"Things change, and with change, people have to change and adapt. I'm sorry Padfoot."

"So that's just it, huh? No more moon follies, no more rule breaking, no more transforming?"

"I've grown up, I haven't changed identities." James laughed. "I'm still Prongs, James Potter, and I definitely see some rule breaking in out futures."

"I'm sorry." Sirius finally said. "I promise I'll make it up to you somehow." James pulled the large oak doors open and the two of them disappeared into the castle.

Lily waited for a while outside, not wanting to burst in right after them so they would know that she had followed. 

What had James set out to do? It must have been important, for all the he made it out to be when she had met him in the castle. Was he really growing up? Imagine that!

  
  


Wow, that took a long, long, long, long time. Hopefully for the next chapter my computer will be up and running again so I won't have to re-copy it onto my mom's! Well, please review, after all the effort I took to get it out for you guys to read. 


	14. Into the Lair of a Slob

Woo! Another chapter time! I took the easy way out and just installed AOL on my computer so I don't have to entirely re-write this again. Stupid A drive still doesn't work. Oh well. Personal thank you's at the bottom to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter Fourteen

Into the Lair of a Slob  
  


"Mr. Potter, Miss Evans, may I have a word with you?" Professor McGonagall asked the next morning during breakfast. Lily rose to her feet stumbling a bit with tiredness, her shoulder aching in pain from the Whomping Willow attack.

"Sure, Professor." James answered brightly.

'How can he be so bright in the morning when he was out past midnight last night?' Lily groaned to herself. Professor McGonagall lead them out of the Great Hall, down a few corridors and into her office. 

"Sit." She ordered. Lily did so gladly, afraid that if she stood anymore she would fall backwards off her feet asleep. Good thing it was a Saturday. Too bad they had rounds. Lily didn't even have enough mind power to fear what they were in trouble for. 

"Where were the two of you last night?" She asked, looking down the bridge of her nose at Lily and James. "You weren't at rounds."

"Wha..?" Lily asked, snapping out of her daze a bit. How did Professor McGonagall know?

"Yes, Miss Evans. It's not a matter of how I came upon this information, but I need an explanation. Now." She said sternly, glaring at Lily and James.

Lily's eyes widened a bit. What was she supposed to say?

"We were patrolling the grounds, professor." James said clearly. Lily groaned. That was his best excuse?

"And why, may I ask, were you patrolling the grounds?" She asked, her nostrils flaring. 

"Well, it's gotten around to students by now that there's two prefects and two head students along with a few teachers patrolling the castle, so why not steel out to the grounds and not get caught?" James asked cheekily.

"Excuse me?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking bewildered at his response.

"As a former rule breaker," James answered, bowing his head. Lily couldn't help but laugh. Former, so that's what he thought of himself. "I know what goes through these people's minds." He smiled. 

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "Well then, did you find anyone?"

"Only a dark figure, but by the time Evans and myself reached where that person was, they had disappeared. But trust me. I'm on to him." James responded seriously. Lily tried to hold back a fit of giggles that was ready to erupt out of her throat. It actually was a very good excuse. And it seemed to be working!

Professor McGonagall looked rather embarrassed. She took a breath, and then spoke again. "Well, you will not be patrolling the grounds any longer, do you understand?"

"Perfectly, professor." Lily finally piped.

"Good. You may go." Lily and James stood to their feet and left her office together. Once a ways down the corridor, Lily burst out laughing.

"What?" James asked, grinning.

"That was the best excuse I have ever heard." She said between laughs. "I can't believe we got away with no punishment." She gasped, trying to catch her breath.

"Which leads me to another question." James said, stopping to look at Lily. "Why weren't you at rounds last night?" He asked. 

"What, am I supposed to go when I know you won't be there?" She snapped, the smile on her face disappearing. 

"Well, it's not like you to just ditch because I did. Where did you go?"

Lily sighed. How far would she get lying to him? She wasn't as good of a liar as he was, and he would most likely be able to see right through her since he was such a pro at it himself.

"Lily?" He asked curiously, breaking her out of her thought.

"Can we go up to my room and talk?" She asked meekly, feeling the best way to stifle his possible outburst was in solitude.

"Nah, my room's closer." James said, starting down the corridor.

'She's coming in my room? She wants to talk to me in private?' James mind reeled. 'Ten galleons it's about Remus.' He sulked silently.

"Godric Gryffindor." He said loudly when they approached a large whitewash stone lion. The lion roared to life, stepped aside and a large door invisible to the eyes opened revealing a long narrow corridor. Lily followed James down the corridor which finally opened up into his dormitory which, Lily was disgusted to see, was an entire mess. Clothing, not only uniforms but muggle clothing as well was scattered all over the floor and looked as if it hadn't been washed since the beginning of the year. The curtains on his bed were falling off, the wardrobe doors were wide open, and towels were scattered all over the floor.

"Jesus, Potter!" Lily gasped. "Don't you ever clean?"

"Not unless someone breaks my arm to make me." He grinned. "So, back to my question." He said quickly, not wanting to wander too much.

"Look, I know you didn't want me to," Lily started, forcing herself to look anywhere but the floor. "but I was worried last night. I followed you to make sure you didn't do anything stupid."

James was silent for a moment. "You did what?" He finally asked.

"Followed you." Lily responded meekly.

"Holy shit, Lily! Why did you follow me when I told you not to! You could have been hurt!"

"By what?" Lily asked, raising her voice a bit. "And why would you put yourself in that jeopardy if you weren't willing to put me in it? You insulted me last night and I was angry enough to try to find out what you were up to! But another part of me was worried you would go and get yourself expelled!"

"What about yourself? You could have been expelled too!" James growled. 

"Why would I get expelled, huh? What was going on out there?"

"No, we are not going down that path." James responded.

"Why not?" Lily yelled angrily. "What do you have to hide, James Potter?"

"It's not for me to hide! It's for Remus to hide!" He yelled angrily, then jumped slightly realizing he had said too much. 

"What?" Lily asked quietly. "What's wrong with Remus? Is he in danger?" She asked worriedly. 

"Nothing is wrong with him, OK?" James snapped.

"You're lying to me, James Potter." Lily growled.

"So what if I am? It's none of your business anyways!" He yelled in response. 

"If he's in danger and needs help, then it should be my business since no one seems to be helping him!"

"Who're you to say no one helps him?" James asked, his face growing red in anger. "Sirius, Peter and I do all that we can and there's nothing else ANYONE can do! So get over it!"

"What's wrong with him?" Lily asked, her voice low and slow so James would understand every word.

James collapsed on one of the seats that surrounded his table, took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. Only then did Lily really notice the big purple and blue mark on the bridge of his nose.

"James! Oh my god, are you hurt?" She asked, moving quickly to his side, bending down to look at the mark on his face.

"Oh, that." James grunted. "I'm fine."

"What happened?" She asked quickly, running her finger along the bruise. 

"It...it's nothing, Lily." He responded, pushing her hand away from his face.

"Seriously, James, what did you do?" She said putting light pressure on the bruise.

"I got in a fight, ok?" James asked, trying to swat her hand away. "Ow! Watch it!" He growled. Though he hated to admit it to himself, he loved how she was fawning over him for a small little bruise.

"James!" Lily puffed. "With whom?" She asked sternly, knowing the answer.

"Snape, who else?" He sighed.

"What was it about this time?" She asked taking a seat next to him at the table.

"It doesn't matter." James snapped.

"Yes it does. Please, James. It didn't have to do with Remus, did it?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, it did." James sighed. "Look, since you seem to be so nosy... ("Am not!" Lily snapped defensively.) You have to understand this. If people knew about Remus's condition, they wouldn't want to go to Hogwarts anymore."

"Why not?" Lily asked in confusion.

"You have to swear to keep your silence. To Candace, to Alice, Harmony especially, and to Bianca."

"Of course." Lily agreed, nodding her head once. 

"Two months before school started in our first year, Remus was bitten by a werewolf." James sighed.

"No!" Lily gasped. "That...that can't be true!"

"It can't?" James smiled slightly, pleased that Remus's lies tricked someone who was the smartest of their year. It only hadn't fooled James because he knew everything there was to know about lies. "Didn't he have an odd habit of disappearing for a couple days once a month? One month he was sick, the next he had to go home to visit his sick grandmother. Poor guy, seems to have a crisis once a month." James laughed slightly.

Lily's eyes were wide in shock. Now that James mentioned it, Remus did manage to disappear once a month. But why had he never told her in the year and a half that they were going out?

"I know what you're thinking." James responded.

"Really, now?" Lily asked, in a daze.

"Why didn't he ever tell you. It's a valid question with a plain answer. He was afraid he would lose you if he told you. He wanted to, he really did. But he feared your response."

"He shouldn't have." Lily sighed, looking at her feet. 

"Oh well, it's over. It was in the past." James added. 

"I...I know." Lily stuttered. "How do you Sirius, and Peter try to help him?"

"That's another story that I don't care to tell." James snapped firmly, and Lily knew there was no budging him. "Let's just say we make it so we can stay with him. It makes him less like a werewolf and more like an animal. It makes things less painful."

Lily's eyes widened. "James, that's dangerous. You shouldn't be around him! What would Dumbledore say?"

"Firstly, you swore to your silence." James growled. "Secondly, he can't hurt us and thirdly we do the best we can to make things easier for him!"

"Of course he can hurt you, don't be stupid!" Lily snapped.

"No, he can't. Not the way we help him."

"James, that is ridiculous! I think I might just tell Dumbledore to make sure you're safe!" She huffed.

"No!" James yelled. "You do it I'll hex you so bad you won't even know your own name!" He realized he shouldn't threaten her, but the words tumbled out of his mouth too quickly for him to hold them back. 

"James Potter!" Lily yelled angrily. "Don't you dare threaten me!" She yelled angrily. "You would do it too! Even if you heard just a rumor that I told. Just to get the pleasure out of it!" Lily growled.

"No, I wouldn't Lily. I didn't mean to say it!"

"Instantaneous response can always be relied on to tell what you're really thinking!" 

"Screw instantaneous response!" James yelled. 

"I'm out of here." Lily said angrily, standing up and making towards the door. 

"Lily, respect Remus and don't tell anyone. You care about him, I know you do. So don't do anything stupid." James called to her back. 

Lily stopped yet didn't turn to face him. "You don't have to worry about me doing anything stupid. Worry about yourself." She snapped, making out the door.

______________________________________________________________________________

Want to say a super thanks to everyone for reading this! It really means a lot to me. Super thanks for everyone who reviews too! And thanks to those who read but don't review...ahem. Personal thank you's:

xxGinnyxx: Hmm...does Lily still like Remus? That's a fact that could be compromised later in the story, so I hold my silence. :-) Thanks so much for reviewing!

KakashisNo1Fangirl: No fair! No going and changing your pen name without telling me! I was going to make these personal thank you's and I was like, whoa! Who the heck was that, then I read the review and it all became clear. Wonder why. Lol. Thanks for reviewing, which leads me to wonder...WHEN THE HECK ARE YOU GOING TO UPDATE FOR YOUR LOVE????

The-Anime-chick-wit-style: You're welcome! Thanks so much for reviewing. Hope you liked this chappie!

oosha66: Hey! Funner is the best word in the world, in the dictionary or not! :-) James' head was so swollen it's going to be hard to make all that big-headedness go away. No fears. :-)

Gryffindor620: Glad you liked my chapter! Thanks a bunch for reviewing!

JoyaSagrada: Thanks for your review! Hope you liked this chapter!

J.E.A.R.KPotter: Hmm...I see you've added another name as your pen name changed from JEAR Potter to JEARK Potter. Meh, don't mind me. Thanks for reviewing!

MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus: Muahahaha....ahem. Sorry, feeling very evil. Wow, that was random. Thanks for reviewing! 

Agloechen: Ah, but Lily will never be with Remus again *cackles evilly* Ahem. They were only together to cause conflict and make it harder for James to win the girl anyways. The sole purpose. :-) Thanks so much for the review!

WhiteLiliesWithAScar: -That's a really neat pen name. Thanks for reviewing! Hope you liked this chappie!

Goddess of Gorgeousness: Hehehe...poke him harder! Lol. Jamesie boys poor little nosie got a good deal of attention from Lily. :-) Thanks for reviewing!

unperfection: Yes, don't you just want to hug them? Lol. Thanks for the review!

firehottie: Thanks so much for reviewing all this time for me! You truly are a faithful reviewer. Thank you much!

Phoebe-H: Thanks for the review! Glad you liked my chapter!

Jessie xxx: Glad you like my story! Thanks so much for reviewing! It really helps inspire me to keep writing!

And that's all for the personal thank-you's. One last thank you to EVERYONE for reviewing! I'll try to update as soon as possible!

  
  



	15. Those Three Little Words

Woo! Next chapter! Sorry for the fluffiness cornieness of this chapter. But I have been waiting for AGES to write this chapter! It's absolutely exciting that I finally reached this point! Oh, and MUCH MORE J/L fluff to come over Christmas break...Not that there's much fluff in this chapter. Just those three little words. :-) Hence the name of the chapter... =D Personal thank you's at the end! 

Chapter Fifteen

Those Three Little Words  
  


Lily lay flat on her back on the floor of her bedroom staring at the plain white ceiling. Why white? Why such a plain color that had absolutely no meaning to it? The rest of the room was so miraculous, but the ceiling was so drab. It almost made Lily think of herself. 

"Am I drab?" She asked absentmindedly. Bianca, Harmony, Candace and Alice all turned to Lily. 

"No, why?" Candace shrugged, turning back to her homework. It had become a new thing to do homework in Lily's room, as it was quiet and there was no one there to disrupt the peace.

"I was looking at the ceiling and for some odd reason it reminded me of myself."

"White is the color of virginity." Harmony giggled. Lily raised her eyes. Why in the world would that matter?

"I didn't mean it in that way." Lily muttered, then realized four pairs of eyes were glued on her. "Yes, I am a virgin, for those who wondered." She sighed in annoyance. They weren't understanding what she was trying to say. "What do you think when you see white?" She asked, trying to get an opinion other then her own.

"Weddings?" Alice offered. 

"Perfection." Bianca answered.

"Strange..." Lily murmured. "To me it's plain. It's boring, drab, colorless, dull, lifeless..."

"What a depressing outlook on such a good color!" Harmony gasped. Luckily it was one of her good mood days.

"To every man his own." Lily sighed, her gaze still glued on the ceiling. She had been debating for the last three weeks about whether or not to tell anyone about Remus. Yet she had still kept her silence, as did she and James whenever they were in the same room together. Too afraid that he would anger her by talking and spur her to tell someone about Remus, James said not a word, and Lily being her old self, had no objection to the silence. They were already a couple days into December, and the break was fast approaching. 

"You've been so quiet these last two weeks." Bianca stated, turning her purple eyes to Lily. 

"What's there to say?" Lily shrugged, her eyes still fixated on the ceiling. 

"You always have a lot to say." Bianca continued.

"Oh well." Lily sighed.

"What about Remus? Is there any hope in getting back together with him? I mean, some of all that jealousy should have worn off by now." Alice commented.

"Maybe." Lily responded, not too keen on their new topic. She sat up to look at her four friends, thought for a while, then chose her words very wisely. "Even if he did want to get back together, I don't know if I would want to." She answered. 

"Why not?" 

"For one thing, he doesn't trust me. If you don't trust you can't love." Lily voiced. "He keeps thinking that I'll run away with James or something." She sighed.

"Would you?" Candace asked, a grin on her face.

"The scary thing is, about a month ago I might have considered it." Lily admitted.

"Then what happened?" Alice said, looking crestfallen. "I've always wanted to see you two together." 

Lily couldn't help but laugh. Alice wanted to see everyone in the school happily partnered up just like her and Frank. "I don't know, we kind of got in a sort of a fight and now we don't talk anymore. Not even at rounds." Lily muttered. She couldn't believe she had actually admitted that James had indeed grown on her. 'That was a month ago.' She told herself. 'Not anymore. I must have had an off month...' "But I don't think he even likes me anymore."

"You've thought that several times only to find it not true. What was the fight over anyways?" Candace inquired. 

"What do you think? Potter was just being a moron like always." Lily retorted, a smile spreading across her face. It felt good to talk about James in a hateful way once again. She looked over at the faces of her friends, just to see their responses to her being bitter to James once again. 

"He doesn't have to do anything for you to think he's a moron, Lily." Alice smiled, though Lily could tell she was fighting to suppress it. "By the way, Candace. Are you and Sirius together yet?"

"Why does everyone keep asking that?" Candace huffed. "No. We're not together. Nor do I ever think we will be. He's a stubborn ass shit head and won't ask me out." She finished. 

"Why don't you ask him out?" Harmony asked, beginning to hum the muggle song Tomorrow from Annie. 

"That's his deal." Candace snapped.

"He's afraid of commitment, Candace." Lily explained. "He hasn't quite yet realized he's already wrapped firmly around you finger and going out with you would be no different except complete access to everything he wants and you not getting mad at him for getting fresh." Lily grinned.

"I don't get mad at him for getting fresh." Candace said simply. "I openly invite the idea." She grinned.

"You guys are so lucky." Bianca finally piped.

"What?" Lily, Candace, and Alice asked all at once, Harmony, now in her chorus of Tomorrow was too busy humming to notice what Bianca said. 

"I've still never been kissed. Is there something wrong with me?" She asked seriously.

"One thing, Bianca." Lily grinned. "Every guy who asks you to be his girlfriend gets denied."

"But I didn't like any of them!" Bianca answered innocently.

"Who do you like anyways?" Alice grinned. 

Bianca stopped, her eyes falling to the floor, a small smile on her face, her sandy blonde hair falling into her eyes.

"Bianca?" Lily grinned. She couldn't help but be hungry for gossip. She hadn't had simple girl talk with her friends for a long time, and she had greatly missed it. 

"Remus." She finally sighed. Alice and Candace squealed, but Lily just plain smiled. Yet Harmony was now singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow too absentmindedly to even notice they were having a juicy conversation.. "I've liked him for ages now, but he was always with Lily."

"Well, charm him, you got him." Lily smiled, though a part of her started thinking. A part of her telling herself she would be very jealous indeed ff Bianca and Remus hooked up with each other.   
  


"No way." James laughed. "No. Way." He told Sirius firmly.

"Then she's just going to continue to ignore you." 

"I'll take the silence." James laughed. "No. Definitely not. No!" 

"When's the last time you asked her out?" Sirius asked, looking James in the eyes. James continued pacing around the track that had now worn the carpet down in his dormitory, avoiding looking at Sirius. 

"I can't remember." James admitted. "I asked her to dance with me at the ball, that's about it. It annoys the hell outta her, and she was with Moony for a long time."

Sirius laughed. "You are definitely not the Prongs I used to know. I think you've given up on Evans." Sirius stood up and walked over to the mirror above James' fireplace. 

"For one minute, try not to be so vain." James muttered in annoyance.

"Hey, I'm thinking about taking Candace to the Three Broomsticks tonight. I gotta look good when I ask her." He grinned. "Anyways, you've given up on Evans haven't you?"

James laughed. The world would end the day he gave up on liking Lily. "What do you think?"

"What I just said. Simple as that." Sirius responded, turning to look at James once again. 

"No, I'll never give up on her. I love her." James sighed.

"So tell her." Sirius said in frustration. That was exactly what he had been telling James to do for the last half hour. 

"She'll slap me across the face if I do." James laughed.

"She's a human like everyone else. She told Moony. That's the only reason they hooked up. She just walked up and told him one day."

"She just broke up with Moony three weeks ago. And I haven't even talked to her since I told her that Remus is a werewolf."

"Well, why not?" Sirius asked.

"Because I'm afraid if I piss her off she'll tell someone. Or go straight to Dumbledore and tell him that we run around with Moony every full moon. That's not an inviting idea to me! We'd be screwed! Expelled! I'm amazed he didn't kill us when we told him that Snape knew. He could of just chucked us out!"

"Nah, we've gotten away with so much already." Sirius laughed in good nature, running a hand through his black hair causing a few strands to come loose and fall into his eyes casting a handsome look upon him. 

"I'm not saying that isn't true, but once he knew that you played the joke on him, I thought we were done for."

"Me too." Sirius laughed. "Anyways, we need to focus. I say you prance off to her room, and just tell her. Maybe she'll be flattered enough to talk to you again. I don't know, but Candace and I have been talking, and we think she's growing fond of you."

"Sure Padfoot. Uh huh." James said disbelievingly. 

"What will it hurt?"

"What will it hurt for you to ask Candace out?" James said a bit loudly. Who was Sirius to criticize him for not telling Lily how he felt for the hundredth time when Sirius wouldn't even ask out a girl that he was practically already dating?!

"The fact that I can call myself single yet still getting some from a girl." Sirius grinned.

"Sirius," James sighed. "I won't be surprised if you never marry." 

"And I won't be surprised if you and Lily do marry if you just stroll up to her door and tell he how you feel. You haven't done so in ages."

"I don't see why you want me to do this." James sighed. "I did it several times over the last few years and she hated me for it."

"But seriously, you've changed, Prongs. You aren't as air headed as you used to be. Did she ever say anything that wasn't hateful and mean to you last year?"

"Not really." James answered truthfully, memories of the spiteful words she had said to him in the previous years drifting into his mind. 

"Well what about this year? It hasn't been nearly as bad, has it?"

"Well, no." James admitted. Now his mind was starting to work. What if telling her that he cared would do something positive? What if he was too much of a wimp to say anything? Then he would wonder for the rest of his life if saying something would have made things turn out differently. But what if it made things worse? He had told her so many times before but it had always ended disastrously. 

"Stop it with the what if's." Sirius laughed, knowing exactly what was going on in James' mind. They had only been best friends for seven years after all... "Go tell her."

James took a breath. He knew he could greatly regret his next decision, no matter what he chose. "Alright." He finally said, turned to the long narrow corridor, and left his bedroom, Sirius whooping at his retreating back.  
  


"Candace, what's the furthest you've gone with Sirius?" Bianca asked.

"You don't want to know." Candace laughed.

"Then why did I ask?" Bianca retorted, giggling insanely. 

"Let's just say broom closet, fourth floor, hands down each others pants. You fill in the blanks." Candace grinned.

"Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on...Candace!" Harmony gasped in shock, giggling madly. 

Just then a knock came at Lily's door. Lily stood to her feet, eyes raised in curiosity, and went to open the door, only to find James on the other side running his hand through his hair looking a bit flustered.

"James?" Lily asked curiously, wondering why he had broken the silence to come talk to her. Surely nothing bad had happened?!

"Er..." James mumbled. "I needed to talk to you about tutoring." He wimped out. He couldn't do it. Especially with Bianca, Candace, Harmony and Alice all watching. 

"Yeah?" Lily asked, raising her eyes.

"I think I'm getting it a lot better and I don't think I need the lessons anymore." He said quickly. Yes, he had wanted to tell Lily this, but he had not set out to do so on that particular quest. 

"OK." Lily responded, relieved to not have to tutor him anymore. It had been rather awkward to try to tutor him without talking. 

"And we have rounds in fifteen minutes." He added.

"Right. That it?" She asked. 

"Yeah, that's it."James sighed.

"OK. Bye." Lily shut the door and turned back to her friends. "What the hell was that about?" She laughed. 

"I think he was trying to tell you something else, but freaked out." Alice answered.

"Nah." Lily responded, sitting back down on the floor.  
  


"Check the Astronomy tower?" James suggested.

"Sure." Lily replied, willing to go anywhere as long as she didn't have to say much to James. What Alice had said made Lily wonder a bit. What if James had been trying to say something else? Would she ever find out what it was?"

An hour later James' watch beeped signaling the end of rounds. 

"I'll walk you back to your room." James said gruffly. 'I've got to do it. If I don't I'll wonder the rest of my life what would have happened if I did..."

Lily remained silent. Why would he want to do that? They had hardly talked the whole time. 'No use to fathom what goes through Potter's mind.' She told herself firmly, stopping her wandering mind. 

Finally the large griffin tapestry came into view. "Well, night then." Lily said, quickening her pace a bit.

"Wait, Lily." James said, stopping her. "Why are you so mad at me?" He finally asked. It was the only way he could think of to address the matter.

Lily turned to face him, her brows furrowed in thought. "You threatened me and insulted me several times, James." She finally said.

"It was three weeks ago, Lily." James sighed. "And I have to admit something." He said, forcing himself to do so.

'Oh Lord, what's he going to say?' Lily asked herself, worry spreading across her face. Maybe she would find out what he had wanted to say earlier.

"Lily, it kills me for you to hate me like you do. I know you've hated me all these years, and I guess I just saw it as more of a challenge to get you to go out with me. I don't know, I was a twisted kid." James laughed nervously. "But now, I don't know, it really hurts. I haven't done anything horribly mean to you to make you hate me, yes I insulted you and threatened you and I would take it all back if I could."

Lily's mind reeled. What was he going on about and why? What was she supposed to say in return? "You can't take things back, James." Lily said, settling with that. "What are you trying to say?" She asked getting slightly annoyed. She was tired and wanted to go to bed but she was stuck listening to him rambling on about how it hurts to be hated. 

"I...I love you. I don't think I've ever cared about anyone as much as I care about you." James finally spat. He hadn't meant to say it like that. The words had just tumbled out. He had only wanted to tell her he cared a little bit, not reveal how he entirely felt! That would scare her!

"W..what?" Lily asked, her eyes widening in shock. Whatever she was expecting to hear, it wasn't that. It was possibly everything BUT that.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. It was a bad idea." He sighed, his face turning fire truck red. He was sure even Lily who was about five feet away could feel the heat that was radiating off of his face.

Lily had no response. She was caught so off guard she couldn't even think of what to say. 'I...I love you.' James' voice kept replaying in her mind. 

"I'm leaving now..." James stuttered. "Goodnight." He turned his back and hurried away from Lily's door.

"Night..." She managed to mumble feebly in response.

"Alice, I need to talk to you." Lily whispered later that night. She had managed to hurry off back to the Common Room after James had left, and had shaken Alice awake. She was the only person who could really understand Lily due to her relationship with Frank. 

Alice murmured a response, then rolled out of bed. Lily hurried down to the Common Room, Alice stumbling behind her. Lily took a seat on the couch facing the fire, and waited for Alice to wake up a bit more.

"You are so lucky we don't have classes tomorrow." Alice groaned. "What do you want, so I can go back to bed..." She grumbled.

"Alice, remember how James came to my room earlier tonight, and you said he was trying to say something but freaked out?"

"This is about James?" Alice asked, her back snapping straight and her eyes filling with flame. "What happened? Did he say what he wanted to?" She asked, her face shining with excitement.

"Yes, I think so." Lily responded, her face reddening a bit. "He walked me back to my room and started going on and on about how it hurts to be hated and then, I don't think he wanted to say it, it seemed like it just came out, but he said..." Lily swallowed. "He said, I love you." She said.

"Oh my god..." Alice said softly, smiling in delight. "Well, I knew he did, but he hasn't said anything in such a long time. And for him to actually say it, it's so sweet."

"Alice, it's a tragedy!" Lily gaped. How could Alice go on and on about how sweet James Potter was? 'At a time like this!' Lily's mind reeled. 

"Why? Why is it so bad, Lily?" Alice asked, her smile fading. "Why do you hate it so much that he cares for you? Why won't you ever give him a chance?"

"Alice," Lily muttered. "Could you ever see me and Potter lasting long together?"

"No, I could never see the two of you together at all because you're so stubborn!" She replied, her blue eyes burrowing into Lily's. 

"Even if I did give him a chance, it wouldn't last! We would drive each other crazy!"

"That's not what it looks like to me." Alice sighed heavily. "You guys have spent so much time together already this year, it's insane. You spend more time together then I do with Frank! I mean, I know he's in another house, but I still see him all the time after classes. I've seen you and James together even when you don't have to be, and you guys are having fun."

Alice took another breath and continued. "Why did you and Remus break up? Because he saw you with James looking like you were having a hell of a good time. You did have a good time with James at the ball! Admit it!"

"I did have a good time with him." Lily sighed. "But even so..."

"Even so what? You know you wouldn't drive each other crazy. Not anymore. I can understand why for all the other years since he was such an insufferable prat, but you've grown fond of him. I know it."

Lily remained silent, her mind screaming. Screaming in protest because she knew Alice was right. 

Yay! I hope it didn't seem to OOC. I think I gave justifiable reasoning... Anyways, thank you's!

MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus- Thank you very much! Can you hear the drumrolls getting louder? Lol. Thanks for the review!

xxGinnyxx- It's just Lily's true nature, no ain't it? Lol. Thanks so much for the review! Okidokipoki is an awesome word! Yay! =D

KakashisNo1Fangirl/Youkai/Momo- Haha, I don't think I know anyone who has as many names as you. Lol. And....a question. T'was just the other day when I took a glance at thou's story list only to see, Gah! Dost myne eyes deceive me, or did Youkai (Naughty Pixie wrath inducer! Watch out! I shoot pixie dust out of my butt!...OK, inside joke with some friends. Don't think anyone gets it...trailing off...) Deletith herith Lilyith andith Jamesith ficith? Wow, enoughith mideivilith talkith forith meith. Oh, but it's just oh so funith. Lol. Well anyways, you've got some Pixie wrath to hide from! *Chases Youkai, Pixie dust flying behind her* (Gah stupid inside joke again. Lol)

Goddess of Gorgeousness- Yes, very interesting indeed. =D But she doesn't know James is an animagus. T'will (Side effects from previous thank you. My apologies...) Be very interesting when she does find out. If she ever does. But this is planned out to be a trilogy, so I'm sure she will sometime. =D Thanks for reviewing!

Agloechen- Now would there be ANY R/L stuff after that great of a confession? Lily's scared, sure, but she'll get over it. Hence the last sentence of the chapter. =D. I like that word...hence. Thank you for the review!

firehottie- Yay! I'm so glad you like it! Thanks so much for the LOV-E-LY review! 

Jessie xxx- Thanks for the review! Yes it inspires me ever so much! Hope you liked this chappie of cheesiness! =D

Belle Black- Hope I updated soon enough for ya! Glad you like it and thanks so much for reviewing!

B-a-B-i- Ahh....kiss an make up. They'll make up, but not kiss for a while yet. =D Ever so sorry, but it makes it all the better when it finally happens, right? Thanks so much for the review!

rachel19- Yay! THANK YOU SO MUCH! THAT WAS ONE OF THE NICEST REVIEWS EVER!!! ALL HAIL RACHEL!!!! YAY! THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH!

J.E.A.R.K.Potter- Thanks so much! Oh, and I think it's cool. One day you'll have like J.E.A.R.K.M.W.S.I.B.Potter, and then that will be the coolest pen name on ff.net! Yay! Lol.

oosha66- Of course Lily will keep her silence. =D But I didn't tell you, so shhh...I might want to use it later just for tension. =D I just LOVE your pen name too! It's soo cool!

WotcherTonks- Thank you very much! Ooh, some Sirius in this chappie for ya there! Lookin' handsome too! Yay! I love Sirius. I would run away with him if I could. Along with Orlando Bloom, Patrick Swayze, Paul Walker, Lance Bass, Ashley Angel (Yes he IS a guy if anyone didn't know that) Sean Biggerstaff (Or however you spell his last name. Obviously he's not number one on my list. =D) Daniel Radcliffe, Tom Felton, Leonardo DiCaprio, and some kid I know who lives over 1400 miles away from me. :-( Oh well, thanks for reading my story, and my list too! Lol. 

And that's all for now! please, Please, PLEASE everyone review for me! It will inspire me to write faster. *nod nod*


	16. The Brilliant Plan of Padfoot

OK, the scene at the end of the chapter with Lily and James is kinda based on the friendship I have with my best friends boyfriend, so if you wonder why the heck they're acting the way they are, that's why. Lol. R/R and enjoy!  
  


Chapter Sixteen

The Brilliant Plot of Padfoot  
  


Sirius sat upright in his bed. He had an idea...a way to make it up to James for everything he had done to him for the last six and a half years. His plan would work-it would just have to!   
  


"Evans! Evans! Hey Evans!" Sirius yelled, hurrying down the hall two days later. Lily turned around to see a breathless Sirius running towards her. "I gotta talk to you about something."

"Can it wait until after breakfast?" Lily asked. She was very hungry and extremely eager to get to breakfast. 'It's most likely about Candace...' She thought. 

"Well, as a professors pet like you would know, after breakfast we have classes, and this happens to be important."

"Let me guess. You tried to make a new and improved pass at Candace and she slapped you for getting too fresh." Lily muttered in annoyance. Candace had other friends. Just because she and Lily were best friends... Lily started down the corridor again and into the Great Hall. 

"No, it's not about Candace. Wait! Come back! I can't talk to you in here!" Sirius groaned. So she was going to make things difficult.

"Guess it will just have to wait then." Lily responded, taking a seat at the Gryffindor table. 

"Lily, you love making things difficult, don't you?" Sirius whispered in her ear.

"Always." Lily laughed in response. She hurried to pool every kind of food on her plate that she could.

The pancakes, the porridge, the waffles, french toast, bacon...it was all so delicious. "Lily?" Candace asked curiously. "You coming? Class starts in five minutes." Lily looked emptily down at her plate piled high with every variety of food which she had only just begun to eat from. 

"You're kidding right?" Lily gaped. 

"No, sorry." Candace laughed. "Here." She bundled up some french toast and bacon in a napkin for Lily, then tucked it neatly in her bag. "C'mon. We can't be late for Transfiguration." Lily grabbed another napkin and filled it with seven more strips of bacon, then hurried after Candace. 

They stepped into the Transfiguration classroom right on time, and took their usual seats in the middle of the room.

"Good morning, class." Professor McGonagall said briskly, taking to the front of the classroom. She waved her wand quickly and the chalk marks on the board disappeared. A slight inclination that they were to be taking notes, and that a long and tiresome lecture was to come. 

"After Christmas break, we will be practicing a rather difficult branch of magic called Metomoglition. It is the art of transforming ones self into an animal." Professor McGonagall said, waving her wand at the board as Metomoglition- The art to transform ones self into a particular animal, appeared on the board in small cursive letters. Lily fervently copied the notes down, not particularly favoring missing out on such an important lecture.

That is until her attention was pushed elsewhere, as a piece of crumpled up parchment flew through the air and landed on Lily's desk. Lily spun around in her seat to see who sent it, only to see Sirius gesturing madly for her to read it. Lily raised her eyes in shock as Candace shot an odd look at both Lily and Sirius. They had been whispering to each other during breakfast, and now passing notes?!

Lily unfolded the bit of parchment to see Sirius' handwriting scrawled on the top of what looked like a bit of James' homework. Lily began to read:  
  


Lily,

Thought you might want to take a look at James' Muggle Studies homework as of late....  
  


Question One: What is air conditioning, and explain how it is used. 

Air conditioning is a device inside a television that makes the pictures appear on the screen. This is a complicated action, which requires several gears to spin all at once to make the pictures move as fast as they do. Then sparks of fire are emitted from the spinning gears which puts the color on the screen.  
  


Question Two: What is the purpose of a sewing machine?

A sewing machine is used for particularly hard labor on the sheep fields of Ireland. The farmer takes the sewing machine out onto a particular stretch of eaten away grass and use the device to re-grow the grass so when the sheep returned to that part of the field to graze, there would be enough grass for them to eat.  
  


Question Three: Name three jobs in the science field.

In the science field, people could work as farmhands, shepherds, and plowers to make sure all the science is processed to its greatest value, and can be sold in a marketplace to the muggles benefit.   
  


It was all Lily could do to stifle a laugh, though sadly she failed. "Miss Evans." Professor McGonagall snapped in annoyance. "Kindly pay attention. And put your food away! There shall be no eating in this class."

"Sorry, Professor." Lily answered, making an attempt to hide her smile. She tucked her bacon back into her bag, and waited until Professor McGonagall was facing the other direction before she turned back to Sirius.

Sirius shot a grin at her and shrugged innocently. "Can I talk to you after class?" He mouthed wordlessly.

"Miss Evans!" Professor McGonagall barked, causing Lily to whip around in shock. "Kindly come to the front of the class and demonstrate transfiguring another student into an animal. Preferably a horse. I find that to be the most difficult kind of transformation."

Lily's eyes widened in shock. She'd never transfigured anyone into a horse before! They had practiced the root with smaller animals, but the larger the animal, the more difficult it was supposed to be.

"Mr. Potter. Please come up to be transfigured." Professor McGonagall said clearly. James stood to his feet and walked to the front of the classroom. 

'I...I love you.' James voice repeated in Lily's head. She swallowed hard and raised her wand. "Denso Cheval." Lily said clearly, trying to inject all the confidence she could in her voice. With a pop, a large black stallion was standing at the front of the classroom. It shook its long black mane majestically, and took to blinking around the room looking politely surprised. Lily gasped half in awe that she actually did it, and half because of how beautiful the stallion was. It was amazing that it once was James Potter... 

"Now kindly turn your classmate back to normal." Professor McGonagall said, looking rather pleased, yet surprised at the same time. 

"Erm..." Lily racked her brain. How did she turn him back? "Credenza." Lily finally said clearly. There was a loud crash and laying on the floor was a legless donkey with a coarse black tail sprouting out of it's nose. 

"Oh my god!" Lily said in shock. The class erupted into a roaring laughter. 

"Silence!" Professor McGonagall called, her voice cracking like a whip. "Miss Evans, please accompany Mr. Potter to the hospital wing, if you will."

"Yes Professor." Lily responded meekly. She raised her wand and performed a hovering charm on James, directing the legless donkey out the door. The last thing Lily saw before she left was Sirius gasping for breath rolling on the floor in painful glee. Lily directed James up three flights of stairs until she finally reached the hospital wing. She couldn't believe she had turned James into a legless donkey! And in front of the whole class! What an ass she made of herself! Or, more like what an ass she had made of James. She couldn't help but smile.

"Goodness gracious! What now?!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked when Lily entered, James floating merely feet in front of her.

"Transfiguration class." Lily responded quietly, resisting the urge to laugh. She had to admit, it was pretty funny. 

"Who is this?" Madam Pomfrey inquired, snatching Lily's wand out of her hand and directing James onto an open bed. 

"James Potter." Lily responded. 

"James Potter? I could've guessed! One minute falling off his broom two hundred feet in the air, the next getting attacked by the Whomping Willow. Honestly. He even came here in his third year and asked for a cure to a broken heart. Said it was all your fault too." Madam Pomfrey babbled mindlessly, shoving Lily's wand back into her hand, then rushing around the hospital wing for various ingredients to change James back to normal. 

Lily couldn't help but smile. A cure for a broken heart? That was almost cute!

Twenty minutes later, the bell rang, and footsteps echoed down the corridor, and finally into the hospital wing. Sirius stepped inside, and laughed at the sight of his decrepit friend lying almost lifeless on the hospital bed, still in the shape of a legless donkey- even the tail was still sprouting out of the nose.

"So, Evans. What did you think about James' Muggle Studies homework?" Sirius grinned. 

Lily snorted. "I think he needs to get his head examined here as well."

"Yes, so obviously he was way off." Sirius said, looking satisfied that Lily had agreed. "Meaning you should probably start tutoring him again."

"What?" Lily laughed. "He doesn't want to be tutored anymore."

"Only because you refuse to talk to him during your cozy little sessions. It's rather difficult to learn when the teacher won't talk, and James was thinking it was a huge waste of time." Sirius said firmly. For once he was actually being serious, and it greatly surprised Lily.

"Look, he brought it upon himself for me to not talk to him." Lily huffed offensively.

"For telling you he cares? For telling you the truth about Remus?" Sirius asked incredulously, lowering his voice so Madam Pomfrey wouldn't hear from her office. "Sorry, honey, but you need to look things over again and figure out what the hell he did wrong. Cause from where I'm standing, it was nothing."

"Where you're standing, Sirius, isn't a place we call Earth." Lily retorted. 

"Seriously, Evans. You give the guy a hard enough time the way it is, but to totally hate him when he really did nothing wrong..."

"Seriously, Sirius. Stop or you'll be laying on that bed looking exactly like James."

"Can't stop. I have to make things up to James. I have to fix everything and I have a plan. Which conveniently involves you." He grinned.

"Oh yes, conveniently." Lily muttered sarcastically. 

"Now, you owe James probably about 30 hours of tutoring, right? Accounting for the three weeks you wouldn't talk to him after he told you about Remus, and for the week and a half that you haven't been tutoring him."

Lily rolled her eyes. "What are you getting at?"

"And you're muggle born...so what better way to make it up to him, and give him the best tutoring anyone could get, by taking him home with you for the holidays."

Lily snorted. "You're joking right?" She asked, staring at Sirius.

"No. I'm not joking. Sirius is serious." He laughed. 

"No. No! What? Why would I even consider it?" Lily burst.

"Because, you know you like him." Sirius grinned. "I know I might not be the best with things like this as of late, thanks to Candace, but I can tell you like James. Not very much, but enough to more then tolerate him."

"I'm not taking him home with me. That would be two weeks with my parents, my magic hating sister, her evil boyfriend and James. No, that wouldn't mix at all. And besides, my parents would never go for it." She laughed, amazed Sirius would even suggest such a thing. It was absolutely ridiculous!

"Ah, but I've already taken care of that." Sirius replied, taking two sheets of parchment out of his pocket. "Here's the one I sent your parents, and here's their response." Lily raised her eyes as she took the letters from Sirius and began to read them.  
  


Dear Mum and Dad,

I have a friend named James who happens to be awful at Muggle Studies (The study of non-magic people) and throughout the course of the year I've had to give him tutoring lessons. Well, his teacher gave a request that I would take him home with me for the break to give him a first hand account of what living with non-magic people would be like. So I was wondering if that would be alright with you, if he stayed in the guest bedroom for the winter break strictly for studying matters.

Love,

Lily  
  


Dear Lily,

That would be absolutely wonderful! We look forward to meeting your friend for Christmas, and we'll have the second floor guest bedroom prepared at your arrival.

Lots of Love,

Mum and Dad  
  


Lily widened her eyes in shock. "I can't believe you! Sirius Black, you insensitive jerk!" She yelled angrily, thrusting the letters back at Sirius. "I can't believe you wrote my parents about something you hadn't even talked to me about, something that I won't EVER agree to in my life!"

"Lily please!" Sirius took to begging. "Please take him home with you. What was the first thing that came to your mind when he told you he loved you?" He asked, his dark eyes full of a plea that Lily could hardly deny.

"What the hell is he going on about! That's it! That's all I thought, then everything disappeared from shock. That's it!"

"OUT!" Madam Pomfrey's voice came from behind them. "Both of you! He needs rest!"

"He isn't quite human enough yet to even get rest!" Lily fumed. 

"Out, out, out!" Madam Pomfrey shooed them into the corridor. 

"Lily, I'll do anything. I'll make a deal with you. This is the one way I can make everything I've done wrong up to James."

"How will it be making it up to him?"

"Because I assure you, Lily. You spend enough time with him, you will like him! Please! I'll do anything!"

"No!" Lily laughed, flat out. "No! I'm not bringing him home with me and that's that!" She huffed, turned on her heel and strode away down the corridor.

"Lily, I really didn't want to resort to this, but how would you feel if everyone knew about the time in our third year when you grabbed my Firewhisky to spike the drinks instead of the Butterbeer?"

Lily stopped dead in her tracks. Yes, she remembered the incident very well, though she tried to forget about it. 

"You know, did a nice table dance for us all, tripped and fell off the table, your bottle of Firewhisky breaking the Common Room window." Sirius grinned.

"Sirius Black, you tell anyone you won't live to graduate." Lily threatened, though she came back to Sirius' side. "You would have died that night if you hadn't taken the blame with McGonagall for breaking the window." 

"Ah, see, I'm a real pal." Sirius grinned. "So, shall we make a deal? You can choose the terms. Anything you want, and I'll do it, as long as you take James home for the break."

Lily laughed, still in disbelief that Sirius would even suggest such a thing. "I'd rather take the whole school knowing." She said, turning and walking back down the corridor. 

"How would that look for a Head Girl?" Sirius called behind her.

"It was the third year, Sirius! It's not going to sell for much!" She laughed.

"How about in the fifth year when James tricked you into..."

"Fifth year was two years ago. Doesn't work." Lily continued, turning around the corner.

"I will win, Evans! You just watch me!" Sirius hollered behind her.

"I'd love to see the day..." Lily mused quietly to herself. This could get interesting. But why on earth would Lily ever even consider bringing James home with her? Her entire family would think she was dating him, and that was the last impression she wanted to give them.  
  


"Miss Evans, could I kindly have a word with you?" Professor Pall called Lily over from across the corridor. 

'Oh Lord.' Lily thought. 'This must have to do with James. What now...?' 

"Sure, Professor." Lily responded, approaching him. 

"I have listed here that you signed up to possibly take home Muggle Studies students over break to give them a first hand account of what it's like to live like the non magic folk..." Professor Pall began, looking down at the scroll of parchment he held in his hands.

"There's a program that involves that?" Lily muttered darkly to herself. "Wait? I signed up for it?" She asked incredulously. She heard a loud burst of laughter, and spun around to see Sirius leaning on a stone gargoyle, as if the gargoyle was the only thing that was keeping him on his feet. Without it, he would have been rolling on the floor in laughter.

"I always win..." He gasped in between breaths. Luckily Professor Pall was shuffling through his papers and didn't notice Sirius.

"You signed right here. See?" He asked, handing a piece to Lily. She had to admit Sirius was getting very good at copying her handwriting.

"Of course, Professor. It just slipped my mind. It's been kind of hectic recently." She responded. What else could she say? She couldn't deny signing up! That wouldn't be nice. And besides, if Professor Pall needed to send a student home with her, which she hoped and prayed wouldn't be James, then she would just have to oblige to it.

"Yes, of course. Anyways, I was wondering, as James was your tutoring student, if you would take him home with you. I know it's a lot to ask, as we usually only pair same sex people together, but I feel you can give him the best taste of it out of anyone. But he said your tutoring lessons have stopped since the Head Student duties are just too much at the moment. But his work has been greatly declining since then, and when you were tutoring him, he was doing a lot better." Professor Pall sighed. "Sometimes I wonder how he ever made it to the seventh year."

Lily smiled slightly. On top of her to-do list. Kill Sirius. 

"Sure Professor. I'd be glad to help out." She responded. 

"Thank you very much, Miss Evans." Professor Pall smiled. "And I'll have you take these forms, you fill these out, and James will fill these out. I'm sure he'll be glad to go, it's such a great opportunity."

"Yes, I'm sure." Lily answered, her falsely happy voice fading as Professor Pall handed her about twenty forms to fill out.

"Thank you again!" Professor Pall responded, whisking off down the corridor. Lily waited until he was completely out of sight before she turned to Sirius.

"Sirius Black!" She yelled angrily. A steely glint was in her eye, and she had every intention to hurt Sirius. As much as she could. Whether it be physically, or emotionally.

Sirius stopped laughing when he noticed the look in Lily's eye as she glared at him with utmost anger.

"Oh shit..." He muttered, turning towards the oak doors, pushing them open and speeding outside. Lily dropped her bag and her twenty forms and raced out behind him, pulling the doors shut after her. Small snowflakes had begun to fall to the ground, and her panting breath rose in the air before quickly evaporating.

"Sirius Black, you little son of a bitch!" Lily called, running as fast as she could behind him. Though at this point, she was having more fun plainly chasing him rather then trying to hurt him.

"That's right! My mum is a bitch!" He called behind him. 

Lily chased him all the way passed the greenhouses for about what seemed like a mile before he collapsed to the ground leaning against the castle wall. Lily plopped down onto the ground next to him.

"Wow, that was refreshing." She panted. "Now I have to kill you." She grinned, jumping on top of Sirius, tackling him so he was laying flat out on the ground. She pinned him in the stomach with her elbow, applying not too much pressure, but just enough to make it slightly painful.

"Give up?" She grinned. 

"Heck no." Sirius grunted rolling over, knocking him off of her. She attempted to pin him again, but he merely picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. "There we go. That's easier. Do you give up?"

Lily laughed as she stared down at the ground. "Nope. You are the biggest ass in the school, Sirius." Lily smiled. 

"Me?" Sirius grinned. "Nah. That would have to be James. Thanks to you of course."

"Oh shut up." Lily giggled. "Can you put me down?" 

"Nope. You seem quite comfortable to me." Sirius laughed, hoisting her up a bit so she was more firmly rested on his shoulder. 

"Come on, I have to get you back somehow." Lily grinned, making no attempt to get down. If she did, it would only make her landing more painful. 

"Ah, well, out of the kindness of my heart, I will pretend that you are taking James home willingly, and our little deal idea is the way it's going to go down. So Evans, state your terms. You take James home for Christmas break, and I...?" Sirius asked, waiting for Lily to finish the sentence for him.

Lily started thinking as hard as she could. What would be equal to what he had done to her? What was the last thing he wanted to do...?

"I know." Lily grinned.

"Yes? Tell me, Senorita Lily." Sirius laughed, setting her softly back onto the ground.

"You have to ask Candace out." Lily explained. "And no getting cold feet."

"Damn! Of all things..." Sirius groaned.

"Come on, you like her and you know it. Asking her out will only take the relationship a bit further."

"Guess I have to tell Harmony things won't work out with us..." Sirius joked. 

"Sirius!" Lily gasped, not catching on to his sarcasm.

"It was a joke, Lily. A joke." Sirius laughed. "I would never mess around with Harmony. One minute you're having fun with her, the next she's bawling her eyes out. It's rather annoying." Sirius grinned. "But I guess it's only fair. You have yourself a deal, Evans." Sirius grinned giving her a firm handshake.   
  


xxGinnyxx - The sweetness increases soon. =D Hope you liked this chapter! Thank you soo much for reviewing!

JoyaSagrada- *Chases to own death after Joya with knives* Must....get....my....list....back. Lol. We'll make a deal. You can have all of them as long as I get Sirius and Orlando Bloom. =D Thanks for reviewing!

Agloechen - Yes, hence is a VERY good word. Lol. I think I'm in love with Sirius. Scary thought. You gotta love the guy though...

MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus - She's still halfway in denial. But she'll openly admit it over break. =D Thank you so much! That was a VERY nice review! I hope you liked this chapter! Thank you, thank you, thank you for reviewing!

Jessie xxx - Here's more, Here's more, Here's more, Here's more, Here's more, Here's more, Here's more, Here's more, Here's more....OK, I'm done. I have the next chappie written already too, so there will be more soon after this! I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for the review!

WhiteLiliesWithAScar - Thank you, I'm glad you liked my last chapter! I can't get over your penname though. It's sooo cool! It sounds very artistic...Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

oosha66 - Ahh, a friend made it up. Lol. Nice. I'm glad you liked my last chapter! Thank you sooo much for the review! I'll try and get the next chapter in good shape soon so I can update really fast!

J.E.A.R.K.Potter - Haha...thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked my chappie, and I hope that you liked this one! Thanks so much!

Optical Illusions - Thank you! I'm glad you like it! I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks a lot for the review!

Faith-Kitty and Jollie-Rancher - Faith-Kitty and Jollie-Rancher? Now I just gotta ask where that came from? Lol. It sounds so cute! I like it! I'm glad you like it! Thanks so much for reviewing!

Gryffindor620 - She'll realize it soon enough. =D I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks for reviewing! 

Akalea - Thank you soooo much! You're my favorite! Lol. Thanks a bunch for reviewing!

Tanya J Potter - Lily will say it too, when the time comes of course. =D Glad you liked it, and thanks so much for reviewing!

YankeeTorp - Thanks a bundle! Wow, I haven't used that phrase in a long while...Lol. Well thanks so much for reviewing!

egggs_n_bacon- I would have to agree that the British do have the coolest words. It's really funny because there's this kid I know who grew up in Britain and when we were doing a genetics study, we were supposed to draw two grids, one with Mom and one with Dad. Well, he wrote Mum, and my friend and I were like, OMG that's soo cool! But he got really embarrassed and erased it. He won't use his British accent either. :-( Yes, I hate stories like the movie Grease where the girl changes just so the guy likes her. So shallow and superficial. Thanks for reviewing!

KakashisNo1Fangirl- Uh oh...part time job. Dun dun dun....What do you do? And it better not keep you from writing For Your Love. *Grabs James plushie and chases after Youkai* Where did she go?...The hunt begins...

firehottie - Glad you liked it! Thanks so much for the review!

angel-dolphin1 - I love dolphins...Lol. Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked it!

WotcherTonks- Hey, what's wrong with poor little Leo? Lol. Definitely watched Catch Me If You Can yesterday. Good movie. One of my faves I would have to say. Lol. Ooh! And I have a huge poster of Orlando Bloom as Legolas in my bedroom...*sigh* he's a hottie. Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

Aaaaaand, that's all! Please, please, PRETTY PLEASE review and you'll get a nice personal thank-you at the end like ^ those ones. Please?


	17. A Hellish Holiday?

Ahhh! An update! Don't have a heart attack! Erm...yeah. Sorry this took so long. Due to the review by someone a LONG time ago that posted a link to a role playing site, I've become rather obsessed with Harry Potter role playing. But you'll have to thank luckystars_13 for sending an email to get me off my roleplaying ass and back to my fanfiction one. Thank you's at the end!

Chapter Seventeen

A Hellish Holiday?

"Hey, James." Lily said quietly, casually strolling into the hospital wing the next morning. "How are you feeling?"

James blinked around in bewilderment. He must have forgotten he was still dreaming. Why else would Lily be in the hospital wing visiting him? 'Oh yeah...' James realized. 'She's the person that got you thrown in here in the first place.' 

"Oh, I'm fine. It's just Madam Pomfrey seems to think there's still something wrong with me." He grinned. Lily giggled in response, and a few wisps of her hair fell into her face. James smiled at the sight of how beautiful she was. She tucked the stray strands behind her ears, and turned her vibrant green eyes to the window.

James looked as well to see small snowflakes drifting passed the window. Christmas was almost coming. 'It would be nice to actually do something for Christmas.' James thought. 'Instead of just staying around the school- I know it's my last year here, last Christmas, but I would like to do something special for once.'

"So, do you feel donkeyish anymore?" Lily grinned guiltily. Not only did she feel bad about turning James into an ass, she was nervous to ask him the fatal question of inviting him home with her. 

"Nah. Just a little bit of hee-haw every now and then." He grinned. It was wonderful for her to finally be talking to him again.

"Don't let it take you over. You're enough of an ass anyways." Lily laughed jokingly. So many thoughts were haunting her head at the moment...

'Take him home with you...' Sirius was saying repeatedly.

'I...I love you.' Was swimming somewhere through her mind, and finally,

'You've grown fond of him. I know it.' Alice was saying. It was enough to stir anyone's mind. Especially Lily's which had already been picked apart by all her homework.

James laughed in response. Great sense of humor... Though she looked rather disgruntled, a bit jarred. "Are you OK? You look flustered." James said.

"I...I'm fine." Lily responded. "Just all the classes all at once...everything like that. And NEWTS are coming up, and I don't feel like I'm ready." She sighed.

"Don't sweat it." James responded. "You've got the whole break to go through before you even have to think about all that stuff." He grinned. "What are you doing for the break?" James asked, trying to make a bit of small talk to cheer her up. "Going home? Staying around here?"

"I'm going home." Lily responded. How convenient for him to bring it up. Lily paused, then finally mustered up the courage to finish. "And Professor Pall has a request that you come with me." Lily said quietly, taking the forms out of her robes.

"What?" James asked, caught rather off guard. His teacher wanted him to go home with Lily? Since when? What? What did he do to deserve such a privilege?

"Your Muggle Studies teacher told me you're doing bad again. So he wants you to come home with me for the holidays, spend two weeks living like a muggle, then come back and pass the class with flying colors." Lily responded. She couldn't believe she was actually asking him to come home with her. She must have gone insane. 'New top of the to-do list. File for insanity' She thought.

"So wait, I'm supposed to go home with you over the break?" James asked. Oh Lord how God had just granted his prayer...

"Yes..." Lily responded, getting slightly annoyed. "I fill out these forms, and you fill out the rest." Lily said, handing him three fourths of the forms. Luckily, for her sake, he had to do more work then she had to do. 

James thought a moment. Had she filed for insanity? She hated him! Then again, how could he complain? "You're sure you want to let me come with you?" He asked unsurely.

"Yes, I'm sure." Lily answered, injecting all the confidence she possibly could into her voice. 

"Wow..." James stuttered. "Thanks, Lily. Seriously, this means a lot that you're going to let me..." He mumbled.

"Think nothing of it." Lily responded quickly. She refrained from adding 'Please!' at the end, as it would sound rather rude. "Just get those forms filled out as soon as possible."

"You're actually taking James home over the break?" Candace burst when Lily told her.

"Thanks to Sirius. I swear if I ever get the chance to kill him, I still won't have my revenge." Lily muttered darkly. True, she had been slightly over dramatizing it, but it was a big thing! She was going to have to spend two weeks alone with James! Her family was going to think she was dating him, and she would never hear the end of it from Petunia! Not that she cared what Petunia thought...

"Oh come on, Lily. It's not going to be that bad." Candace reassured her.

"You're right. It's not going to be that bad. It's going to be horrible!" Lily responded, falling back onto her bed. 

"Little Miss Lily Evans. The drama queen." Candace laughed. 

"Oh be quiet." Lily replied. "I'm not going to be able to relax for one minute over the break! I'll have to be teaching him things, keeping him entertained. It's going to be the worst Christmas ever!" Lily sighed. 

"Just relax, Lily. He's easily entertained. It can't be that hard. Besides, you know he'll be happy just plainly being in your presence." Candace teased. Lily grabbed her pillow and tossed it at Candace as hard as she could, still laying on her back. It soared over Candace's head and narrowly missed the fireplace. "Smooth." Candace giggled, getting to her feet. She picked the pillow up and tossed it lightly back onto Lily's bed. 

"I don't know. I mean, I had a little talk with Alice a couple days ago about James saying, you know, those three words?" Lily commented, not wanting to repeat the words I Love You. "And she said she knows I've grown fond of him. It kind of scares me. I mean, what if she's right?" Lily asked.

"I know she's right." Candace responded, sitting back down on the floor where she was making origami birds. 

"No you don't, Candace. Only I know the answer to it." 

"Then what is the answer?" Candace asked, as she folded a fresh piece of paper after adding another complete bird to her pile. She had made about five already. 

"I'm not really sure..." Lily responded truthfully.

"Well, let's think of it this way." Candace said, pausing a moment as she made a complex fold, biting her lip in concentration. "Last year, you would yell at James, insult him, tell him you hated him and more whenever you saw him. But you guys have fun together now." Candace finished. 

"I'm not quite sure I would call it fun." Lily stated. 

"I would." Candace replied simply. "Come on, let's get out of here. Don't you want to get a good look at all the decorations before you leave tomorrow?" Candace asked, placing all her origami birds in her bag.

"Oh, all right." Lily responded, heaving herself off the bed. She and Candace made their way out of Lily's bedroom and down toward the Great Hall. 

Like every year, it looked nothing short of splendid. The usual twelve trees were placed around the room each with a different theme of decorations. One was decorated with gold tinsel and luminous gold bulbs, and another with real icicles dangling off the edge of each branch and silver tinsel wrapped around it, and the rest were still in the process of being put together. 

"This looks awesome!" Lily smiled in awe, the look of frustration and fluster entirely disappearing from her face and was replaced with a smile. 

"Hey, look who's here." Remus whispered from the corner where he, James, Sirius and Peter were helping decorate. Sirius, James and Peter all looked toward the front of the Great Hall.

"Ah, Evans and Daily." Sirius grinned. "Hey Moony, does this mean you're over her?"

"Guess so." Remus shrugged. "It's not like we're ever going to get back together anyways." He turned back to the tree he was decorating and added another color changing candle to the boughs. 

James grinned as Lily looked around in awe. "How did you ever get her to like you in the first place?" He asked Remus curiously.

"I dunno. It just happened, I guess," Remus answered.

"Tell me, Moony. Who have you got eyes for now?" Sirius grinned. "Because I know you've been staring at a certain young Gryffindor a lot recently."

"Who is it?" Peter squeaked in excitement, nearly toppling off the ladder he stood on.

"Well, Padfoot seems to know." Remus grinned.

"Come on, Moony. Who is it?" James laughed.

"Bianca Trevors." Remus responded, lighting the candles on the tree with his wand.

"Ah, sandy haired purple eyed beauty." Sirius grinned. "How about you, Wormtail. What rat have you been looking at recently?" He laughed. 

"Sod off, Padfoot." Peter responded.

"Come on, Wormtail. You've gotta like someone." James grinned. 

"Nah, not right now." Peter responded, turning back to the tree and adding some more tinsel.

"Hey, Lily. Look." Candace said, pointing to the corner where the four Marauders stood decorating the tree.

"Imagine that." Lily smiled. Lily had never heard of any students ever helping the teachers decorate the Great Hall. Yet there they were, plain as day making a large Christmas tree look spectacular.

"Shall we go over and talk to them?" Candace grinned. 

"No, let's just watch for a little bit." Lily smiled, watching as James placed a large star that flashed gold and red at the top of the tree, then stepped carefully down the ladder. Peter climbed to the top of the ladder, a box of red tinsel balanced on one hand. Though being clumsy as he was, the box flipped off his hand and the tinsel fell right onto James' head.

Lily half expected an outburst from James for Peter 'ruining his masculinity' by dropping tinsel on his head. But James just laughed and clapped Peter on the back, passing the tinsel back up to him. 

Lily and Candace giggled slightly, getting amusement plainly from watching them. "Oh my god, what am I doing?" Lily asked herself incredulously. 

"You're watching three handsome guys and a rat decorate a tree." Candace responded, grinning. "Come on, let's go talk to them." Candace smiled, nodding her head in their direction.

"OK, fine." Lily finally agreed. She and Candace proceeded to the back corner of the Great Hall where the Marauders were making their masterpiece.

"How's it going, guys?" Candace asked, looking up at the four guys on two ladders.

"Great!" Sirius responded.

"This looks awesome." Lily commented, admiring their craftsmanship.

"Thank you, milady." Sirius grinned. "So Candace, you hanging out here for the holidays?" He questioned.

"Yeah. It's better then going home." Candace responded, smiling fondly at Sirius. 

"Well said." Sirius grinned. 

"What are you two up to?" Remus asked, lighting another candle with his wand.

"Just checking out the decorations before I leave tomorrow." Lily responded quietly. It was rather awkward for her. All at once was her ex boyfriend, a boy everyone expected her to end up with, a rat, and a friend. Amazingly Lily and Sirius had indeed grown as friends throughout the year. 

"Good choice. It would be a shame to miss them." Remus answered. 

"Yes it would." Lily stated, looking around the Great Hall once again in awe.

"What're the rest of you doing for the holidays, other then Sirius, James and Lily," Candace grinned, though Lily could tell she was attempting to suppress a laugh as well. 

"I'm going home." Peter responded, carefully aiming his wand at one of the candles. He whispered the incantation, and amazingly the candle light, glowing splendidly amongst the ones Remus had been lighting.

"Staying here." Remus responded grinning at the evident joy spread across Peter's face. 

Sirius waved his wand once across the tree causing the colors to shine brighter, and the flames to burn larger. "This will be a holiday to remember." He grinned joyfully. 

OK- I don't have enough time to write out thank yous at the moment, so I'll just list names, everyone love and cherish them. Lol.

Luckystars_13

Gryffindor620

Kakshis whats-is...oh whatever. Youkai

MPPSexxySiriusRemusJames

Jessie xxx

oosha66

xxGinnyxx

MilesFromNormal

phsdrummer07

Optical Illusions

courtney

firehottie

prongsiegirl

J.E.A.R.K.Potter

Agloechen

vamperfly

WhiteLiliesWithAScar

Sakura

Rockergirl

The Sweet New Zealander

Joyasagrada 

emzi 

black-cat-on-the-wall

Bajan Girl 

angel-dolphin1

crazymofo 

starlet13 x like 16! Sorry I haven't had the chance to thank you yet, you reviewed after I updated last time!

Red-Emerald

Goddess of Gorgeousness

  
  



	18. Home For The Holidays

And again, two of my lovely readers had to get me off of my butt in the roleplaying world and back here. I'm beginning to be rather amazed with myself at how long this story is made out to be. My other story (which I am going to delete off this site VERY soon due to my disgust for it) only ended up being 22 chapters, while the other is still unfinished. And I will go write the next chapter AFTER I finish my language arts project. MUST force myself to do so. And my goal is to have it posted by...say...Saturday! That will be improvement compared to my recent lack of updating! :-/ 

Chapter Eighteen

Home For the Holidays

"Are you sure it's OK with you?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"You positive? Because just say the word and I'll tell her I can't go for some reason or another."

"No! Just go!"

"But I don't want to not be friends anymore if I go. Trust me, Moony. You win over her every day. I would drop her before I would ever drop you. Remember the promise we made in the third year? Friends before girls always."

"Thanks, Prongs, but seriously. I don't care. I don't really feel that way for Lily anymore. Despite what you may think, I can move on. I have the ability to do so."

"OK, I'm just making sure. But...but you're sure all right?"

"Yes I'm sure. Go home with her. Romance her. Win the heart of her parents. Kiss her, hug her, I don't care!" Remus laughed. "Honestly, James. I seriously don't."

"OK, but you're..."

"Oh, shut up, Prongs." Remus laughed. "I'll be working on getting Bianca to go out with me over break, so I'll be keeping busy." Remus grinned.

"Good luck with that. And I hear Sirius is going to ask Candace out, finally." James grinned.

"Yeah, maybe there will be three more couples at this school once break is over." Remus grinned.

"I sure as hell hope so." James laughed, levitating his trunk.

"Have fun, Prongs." Remus grinned from where he was sitting on the couch in the Common Room.

"You'll be having a fun break." Lily grinned at Candace. Candace still didn't know that Sirius was going to ask her out. 

"I hope so. But Sirius is staying so it should be all good." Candace smiled, though the smile faded rather quickly.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked. 

"I don't know. I'm just not sure why I even try with Sirius anymore. He's obviously not interested if he hasn't asked me out yet." She sighed. "What if he's just messing around with me to say that he's getting some?"

"No, Candace, he really likes you." Lily said, her mind racing. Candace couldn't back out now! Sirius was supposed to ask her out sometime in the next two weeks! She couldn't suddenly decide that she didn't want to go out with him! "He's just afraid of commitment. Poor guy. But I have a feeling you and him are going to hook up soon." Lily smiled. "I don't know why I have the feeling, but it's there."

Candace smiled. "Thanks Lily. And please, be nice to James. Don't make his break torture."

"I don't plan to, because if it's torture for him, it's torture for me." Lily responded, staring out the window. In ten minutes she would have to take her trunk down to the Entrance Hall and leave for her home. In a compartment with James. All alone with James, and the few other people on the train who chose to go home. "I just don't know how I'm going to entertain him for two weeks." Lily sighed in exhaustion. She had been up all night the previous night trying to organize all her notes and books so she would be able to take her stuff home and still know what everything was, not to mention that the haunting thought of being with James every moment of the day for the next two weeks was hanging over her head. 

"There's a skating rink down by your house, isn't there? I mean there's the cute little village just down the street. I'm sure you'll find something to do." Candace said, looking into Lily's fire, her chocolate brown eyes glazed over in thought. 

"Ice skating. Loads of fun." Lily responded sarcastically.

"Hey! I always enjoy a good skate," Candace responded, snapping out of her stupor to look at Lily. "It would do you well to enjoy it as well." Candace grinned playfully in response. "Uh oh, look at the time." Candace said with a mischievous grin. "You've got to get down to the Entrance Hall or you'll miss the train." Candace levitated Lily's trunk with her wand, then handed it to Lily and proceeded in leading her out of the dormitory. She stopped at the door, letting Lily go in front of her to close it behind her. "Say goodbye until next semester!" Candace said, shutting the door behind Lily. 

James stood at the gates of Hogwarts waiting for the carriages to come that would lead them to the train. His heart was pounding. He couldn't remember ever having been so nervous. Not even when it was the final Quidditch match of his second year that would determine if they would win the cup. And they had to win by three hundred points, meaning James couldn't have caught the snitch until they were a hundred and fifty points in the lead. He had nearly killed himself when he dive-bombed Lucius Malfoy so he wouldn't catch the snitch. Of course James had seen the snitch before Lucius, but he knew he couldn't catch it. 

James rocked from the balls of his feet to his heels trying to shake off some of his nervousness. But it didn't do much to help. Finally other students began to arrive, and James didn't feel so alone anymore. But there was still no sign of Lily. 

The carriages approached and James started to get rather worried. What if something had happened to Lily and she didn't make the train? It would be rather awkward arriving at her home alone, without her.

James reluctantly got in one of the horseless carriages alone and sat back for the bumpy ride to the trains. If he didn't see Lily at the Hogsmeade station, he would walk back to the school and look for her. 

The carriage finally came to a halt, and James clambered out with his trunk.

"I'll be helpin' ya with that..." A short train attendant said, whisking James trunk away from him. "And yer name is?" The man asked.

"James Potter." James answered absentmindedly.

"Ah, yer the Head Boy." The attendant placed James' trunk in a small compartment on the side of the train, then tapped it once and it zoomed away. "It will be a'waitin' ya in yer compartment." The man said before whisking off to help someone else.

James was now frantic. Where was Lily? What had happened to her? The last carriage pulled up, and James was getting extremely worried. But next thing he knew, Lily was stepping out of the carriage, her red hair shining like a halo around her head.

"Lily!" James waved, a grin spreading across his face. 

"Hey." Lily responded as the attendant seized her trunk from her and hurried off, noting her name on the top right corner. "That worm Malfoy made my trunk crash and everything fell out. It took forever to get everything back in." Lily spat in annoyance. 

"Did I hear my name?" A greasy voice came from behind Lily. Lucius Malfoy. Speak of the devil. Along with Lucius came Severus Snape, Avery Nott, and the two proclaimed Crabbe and Goyle. No one knew their first names. That's just what they were. Crabbe and Goyle. Lucius Malfoy and his cronies. 

"Get outta here." James responded, glaring at them.

"Why should I?" Lucius asked, a smirk curling on his lips.

"That was witty, Malfoy. Real witty. I didn't know anyone could use such pathetic comebacks since the second grade. Oh wait, that's right. You had no schooling before Hogwarts. That could explain why you're so hopelessly dense." Lily snapped acidly, turning to get on the train.

Malfoy's dull grey eyes flashed, and he made a movement toward Lily. "You damn Mudblood." Malfoy said viciously.

But James stepped in his way and said, "Jesus, Malfoy. Just grow up." With that, James turned and entered the train behind Lily. He slid open the Head Student compartment and entered, shutting it quietly behind him. 

"I hate all of them." Lily sighed. Her vibrant green eyes wore a look of exhaustion beyond belief, and even sadness in a way. She took a seat and simply resorted to looking out the window, so James wouldn't see the pain in her eyes. 

James took a seat across from her and sat quietly, just watching her looking out the window. 

"I'm so sick of it." Lily finally said, looking at James. "Being so called different because my parents aren't magic. They've given me trouble ever since the first year. I...I'm just...never mind." Lily finished, looking back out the window.

"I guess that's just about the only thing you and I have in common." James finally said smiling slightly.

"What's that?" Lily asked, turning back to James.

"A hatred for Malfoy and his cronies."

"That's not the only thing." Lily said, smiling slightly. "I mean, we're both apparently suited for the Head Student roles of the school, right?" She asked, some of the pain washing away. 

"Yeah, I guess so," James grinned. 

A half an hour later, Lily and James resorted to playing a rather animated game of War with Exploding Snap cards. It didn't help much that they kept exploding every thirty seconds. 

"I have to warn you about something." Lily laughed quickly snatching the two cards she had just won.

"What's that?" James asked placing another one down gingerly, hoping it wouldn't blow up in his face. 

"My sister and her boyfriend." Lily said as James took her card. 

"What about them?" James asked, laying down another card. A two. Lily was about to respond when all the cards in her hands blew up. 

"Whoa!" Lily laughed. James grinned. She was so beautiful...her smile. Oh her smile was like that of a veela. The ashes fell to the compartment table and began to reform into cards again. Lily scooped her cards up again and the game resumed. "Well, I used to be really close to Petunia, my sister, but then I got accepted to Hogwarts and she's hated me ever since. And her boyfriend is the biggest fake it's ever been my displeasure to meet. I just hope my parents didn't invite him over for Christmas dinner." Lily sighed. 

"I'm sure they're not that bad. Ah...war," James grinned looking down at the pathetic little twos both he and Lily had laid down. He laid down three cards and flipped a third one. A jack. But next thing he knew, the five cards he had just laid down exploded, ashes flying into the air. 

Lily smiled and laughed. "You haven't met them yet. Of course they're bad." 

A soft knock came on the door, and the compartment door slip open revealing the stout witch and the refreshment cart. "Anything off of the cart, dears?" She asked.

"Here, I'll get it," James said, taking a pouch out of his pocket.

"What?" Lily asked. "I'm not letting you pay for it!" She appreciated the offer, but it highly disturbed her when she wasn't able to pay for things. 

"No, it's the least I can do. You're dealing with me for two weeks and all." James grinned. Lily had to force herself to bite her tongue, for she knew it was true. 

He picked several things off the cart, then handed the squat witch the money, which looked like an awful lot to spend. 

"Thanks, James," Lily muttered, taking the food he handed her. 

An hour later, all the snacks had disappeared, and the game switched from war to building a card castle. Which was a lot harder then it seemed. Lily held the last card up, her hand shaking slightly and placed it right on the top. It didn't collapse!

"Well done," James laughed. "That's a mighty fine castle," He grinned. With a spectacular BOOM the card castle exploded, and the air was once again full of ashes. 

"Well, that's a shame," Lily laughed as the cards began to reform themselves from the ashes. Like a phoenix from the ashes. "So, what do you want to do when we arrive in London?" Lily asked, hoping maybe he would have a preference of something to do so she wouldn't feel like she would have to come up with everything herself.

"I'm perfectly fine with meeting the family," James grinned. He couldn't help but grin like an idiot. It was almost like she cared about him!

"I think we're going to avoid meeting the family as much as we possibly can," Lily commented, a grim look spreading across her face. 

"In that case, how about you take me through Muggle London?" James grinned. "I mean, this break is to be dedicated to studying right?" He asked, mentally hoping it would lead to more. Ever since she had invited him, he had wanted to kiss Professor Pall, even though the thought made him sick to his stomach. 

Lily smiled. "Muggle London it is. I told my parents we're apparating in. You've passed the test, right?"

James coughed. "Of course," He grinned.

"James." Lily scolded. "I guess we'll have to call a taxi."

"A what?" James asked, looking bewildered. "I assure you I've done it enough times to know I'm not going to splinch myself or something. I just haven't gotten to taking the test yet," He finished, grinning at the look of disapproval on Lily's face. 

"A taxi is a way of transportation. A person drives it around and you can call one to come pick you up and drop you off wherever you want." Lily explained, though her eyes were narrowed dangerously due to James' lack of consideration toward the wizarding law. 

-----------------------------

Remus entered the Common Room the first night of break. He started to walk across the room, then noticed a figure brush passed him. He turned to see Bianca walking briskly out of the Common Room. A sly grin spread across his face, and he turned to follow her out through the portrait hole. 

It took her a few moments to realize she was being followed, and when she did, her face rouged in an oh so pleasant manner. Remus smiled at the sight of it.

"Hey, Bianca." He said, catching up with her.

"Hi." She responded, somewhat breathlessly. 

"It's late. Where are you running off to?" He asked, the sly grin still upon his face.

"Oh, I uh...left my bag in the Great Hall," She said, blushing even more. 'Why do I have to blush NOW?' She asked herself angrily. 'And what's that look on his face? Why is he looking at me like that?'

"It'll still be there in the morning. There's not very many people here anymore. Just you, me, Sirius, Candace and Alice are left in the Gryffindor Common room. Everyone else went home." Remus told her.

"Well, yes, but I don't want to forget it come tomorrow." She told him, cracking her knuckles nervously, very aware of how fast her heart was beating. "Well, what are you doing out?" Bianca asked, trying to force herself to calm down.

"I was following you. Making sure you weren't going to get into any trouble." Remus grinned.

Bianca's heart skipped a beat, but she couldn't help but feel a bit more at ease for some reason. The fact that he was trying to protect her...well, it made her protected. "And how would you do that?" She managed to smile. 

"You know, I can be a smooth talker sometimes. Gotten out of trouble several times myself when it came to being out past curfew." Remus grinned, running a hand through his hair. His hands...Bianca couldn't help but notice how strong they looked. Strong hands were always a plus.

"I bet you have," Bianca answered breathlessly, her eyes now transfixed upon his.

"You know, one of the biggest mysteries this year is what spell you used to make your eyes go purple." Remus grinned, mentally thinking about how beautiful the color was. It definitely was a change for the better from her hazel eyes. She looked so much more pleasantly exotic with purple eyes.

"Oh, that." Bianca smiled. "It was actually an accident. My three year old brother was playing with my wand and he ended up poking me in the eye with it. My eyes swelled shut but when I woke up the next morning they were purple." She laughed.

Remus couldn't help but grin. "Remarkable." He simply said. "Was it irreversible or something?" He asked, running his hands through his hair again.

"I'm sure it's not, but I personally liked the change so I didn't do anything," She shrugged.

Remus's watch beeped, informing the two that it was eleven o'clock at night, and high time for them to get back to the Common Room.

"Come on, Bianca." Remus grinned. "We've got to be getting back so we don't get caught." He said, turning and heading back to the Common Room.

-------------------------

The train finally slowed to a stop after a rather long ride in which Lily and James had to test their creativity to keep them from being insanely bored out of their minds. It worked for the most part, but the trip still seemed long. Lily and James stored their trunks at a luggage check-in at the front of the train station so they wouldn't have to carry them all around Muggle London.

An hour after the train had pulled in, Lily and James stood in the middle of Muggle London, snowflakes drifting gently to the ground. 

Lily smiled as she looked around at all of the window-to-window shopping opportunities, holiday lights twinkling as miniature trains chug-a-chugged by and figurines of ice skaters whised along on a fake display of ice behind the shining windows of the stores. "Welcome to Muggle London." She told James with a smile. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

And now I shall thank people, but due to lack of time again, it shall be names once again. Luv them and praise 'em, ALL!

Jessiexxx

Sakura

firehottie

alexandra

Muzzy-Olorea-Isilme-Nause

Red-Emerald

The Sweet New Zealander- The beginning of the chappie was for you, buddy!

IluvHermione

Goddess of Gorgeousness

Agloechen

goofygal 

Twilight66

starlet13 

~MissGranger~ 

black-cat-on-the-wall

And super-duper thanks to those two readers who got my to update...*drum roll* dangerkitten13 and starlet13.

WILL get next chapter up by Saturday! I'm gonna shoot for it! =D

  
  
  
  



	19. Muggle London

I know, I know, I know! I said LAST Saturday and now it's Friday! But trust me, you wouldn't have wanted to see this last Saturday. It was horrible! But I think I've gotten it a lot better within that time. Ahem...anyways, onto the chapter. Read and Review si vous plait! (That's "please" for those who don't know. =D)

Chapter Nineteen

Muggle London

James eyes popped out of his head. Lights glittering in the windows in tiny little bulbs. They weren't flames, nor was there any logical explanation for them! They simply...lit up! He stared in stupor, walking closer to the glass to examine the small flashing bulbs when a loud CHOO CHOO! erupted somewhere close by. In the window display was a miniature railroad that moved around the track with ease, small sparks erupting when the train turned around the bends.

"But...how do they...how do they move without magic?" James asked, his jaw hanging agape. 

Lily giggled. "Electricity." She simply responded. "Come on." She said, grabbing his hand to pull him away from the window. "There's much more interesting things to see here other then Christmas lights and miniature railroads." She said with a smile. 

James stomach dropped. She was holding him by the hand pulling him away from the display window! He made a mental note to never wash his hand again. Though, when he thought about it, that could be just a little bit difficult. She dropped his hand, and he placed it in his pocket cooly hoping she wouldn't notice how mad about her he was.

"Hey, come in here." Lily said with a sly grin, entering a toy shop. Sure one could proclaim that a toyshop was for young children and extremely boring, but as it was close to Christmas, there were wind up, electric, talking, flying, whirring, buzzing and all sorts of toys all around the store just waiting to be bought. 

James followed her into the store with a small bit of confusion. Why was she taking him into a toy store? Who cared about toys? Though when he entered the store he realized how wrong he was for not caring. 

It was an extremely large shop with red velvet ribbons and tinsel strung along the walls, over a dozen decorated Christmas trees glittering in magnificence, and fake snow was falling from the ceiling down to the wooden floor. And all over the floor were toys of all sorts. Where the walls weren't decorated with ribbons and tinsel there were shelves and shelves of toys. 

Wind up monkeys with symbols were scuttling across the floor banging their large golden instruments together. Model airplanes whirred through the air, baby dolls cried, toy soldiers strutted around the room on straight legs...it was a madhouse! And James couldn't help but be intrigued by each and every stupid little toy!

He bent down as a furry little puppy dog hobbled on by looking at it incredulously. "This is amazing!" He said, his eyes wide in shock. "How...whoa..." He gasped.

Lily smiled silently, looking down at James who was obviously amazed by muggle brilliance. It was a very...cute sight. 'I did not just think that James Potter is cute.' Lily growled to herself. But sadly, the fact was, she had. 

"How they manage to make these things work without magic..." James gasped in awe picking the mechanical puppy off of it's feet watching it's little legs move uselessly in awe. 

"Here...look." Lily said with a smile. She took the puppy out of James' hand, and turned it over and flipped the switch turning it off, then flipped the battery case open. She popped one of the four batteries out and handed it to James. "These make it move. They're called batteries. They put electricity into the batteries so certain things like flashlights, clocks, and these toys can work without needing a cord or plug in." She explained while James rolled the battery over and over in the palm of his hand. 

"How do they put e-lect-ri-city in this little thing?" He asked in marvel. 

"They can put it in batteries much smaller then that." Lily laughed, popping the battery back into the toy before the shopkeeper would come by to see the toy halfway dismantled. 

Lily caught site of a small boy putting down the remote to a remote control car, and a thought came upon her. "Come on, come look at this." She said, grabbing his hand once again to lead him over to the remote control car. Her heart fluttered as she felt his hand in hers.

'Stop it.' She commanded herself. 'You DO NOT feel that way about Potter. It's Potter...the kid who has brought hell to you for the last six and a half years of school.' She told herself firmly. 'Ah, but not this year, now has he? He hasn't been all that bad this year. Quite the opposite...' The other voice battled in her mind. She pushed the thoughts aside, dropped James' hand and picked the remote control up.

"Here." She said, handing it to him. 

James looked at the black control in his hands. "What is it?" He asked looking dumbfounded.

"Press one of the knobs." She smiled.

'God she's got a beautiful smile...' Flashed through James' mind as he pressed up on one of the little black knobs. A small thud hit his foot, and he looked down to see a red muggle car ramming into his shoe. He pressed the knob the other way, and the car zoomed backwards away from James. 

"Whoa!" He laughed, fiddling with every knob on the control panel watching the little red car zoom all over the floor, knocking other toys out of its way. "That's awesome!" He laughed, as the car bumped into the wall, bounced backwards, then bumped into the wall again, over and over and over.

"It doesn't take much to impress you, does it?" Lily laughed.

"No, not really." He laughed in response finally getting the hang of which knob made the car go which way. 

"Come on, James. There's more to see in Muggle London other then remote control cars." She laughed as James zoomed the little car all over the toy shop. 

"Oh, all right." He grinned, putting the remote control down somewhat reluctantly. The two of them stepped out of the shop back out into the windless night, and back into the gentle snowfall. "So, where to now?" He asked grinning like an idiot. 

"Well, there's a bookshop down here, and an art gallery up that way, there's the park..." She suggested. "Also there's a clothes shop and a tavern..."

"A tavern?" James asked in interest. "Like the Hog's Head?"

"Well...yes..." Lily responded, silently scolding herself for mentioning a tavern to James Potter.

"Are muggle taverns any different the wizard taverns?" He asked in curiosity. 

"I suppose a little. You don't usually find anyone playing pool in wizard taverns, nor are there any televisions."

"Televisions?" James asked, his face lighting up. "Let's go there."

"OK, but we're only looking, James. Don't get any funny ideas about getting something to drink." Lily said with a smile in a rather maternal tone. 

"Of course, Lily dear." He grinned. "Which way?" 

"Come on." Lily sighed in exasperation. He could have chosen an art gallery, or a book shop. A book shop! And yet he decided to go where the drunkards of the town chose to congregate.

The tavern loomed into view, and next thing Lily knew, she was pushing the door open, entering after James. The bar was crowded, several people getting their night time drink, the two pool tables were occupied, and the tables for eating were three fourths full. 

"What can I get you two?" A rather ugly looking woman who had only about three teeth remaining in her mouth asked Lily and James, a smile upon her face exposing the three rotting stubs of teeth that remained.

"Oh, we're just looking." Lily said quickly before James could say anything. 

"Tourists, are ya?" The woman asked, her rough voice raising the hairs on the nape of Lily's neck. 

"Oh, yes...just visiting London for the night." She said.

"Ah, then have one on the house." She said, grabbing two tall glasses of alcohol from the bar.

"Oh..." Lily began to say, but James cut in.

"Why, thank you ma'am. Very generous offer there." He said with a grin, taking the two glasses from her, handing one to Lily. Lily looked down at her glass in disgust, wanting to smack James for handing it to her. 

"Oh, call me Roberta. And you're welcome, handsome. You'll like it so much you'll have to stay for another round. Go on! Sit down!" She said, motioning to the two open seats at the bar. Lily reluctantly took a seat next to James, who was already sipping his drink. The ugly looking woman strutted away, and disappeared behind the bar. Handsome? She had called James handsome? Lily had wanted to smack her when the words came out of her mouth. Wait...did she just get jealous because some ugly broad called James handsome? 'I need to get my head shrunk.' Lily thought desperately. 

"James, I don't drink," she hissed to him angrily.

"Sure you do. You remember the third year." He grinned.

"That was Sirius's fault. He spiked my drink, remember? I haven't had anything alcoholic since then! Besides, we're not old enough!"

"Who cares?" James grinned, taking another sip. "Go on...just try it."

"No!" Lily hissed stubbornly.

"You'll like it." James insisted, laughing at her stubbornness.

Lily glared at her drink, then quickly took a small sip, swallowing hard. "That was disgusting!" She growled. "How can you drink this stuff?" Lily asked in disgust.

James was too distracted by Lily to even care about the several televisions playing around the room. Sure they were interesting when he first entered, but he felt he could look at Lily for hours and hours and never get tired of her face...and she was so adorably stubborn. And the fact that he was trying to get her to drink... Sirius would have laughed himself shitless had he been there. 

Lily felt the heat creep up in her neck as she looked down at her glass again. It was disgusting...but in a way oddly satisfying. 

"Candace!" Sirius called, seeing Candace's retreating figure from the Great Hall.

Candace turned, and smiled when she saw Sirius approaching her. 

"Hey beautiful." He said, wrapping his arms around her. "Wanna go for a walk outside? It's snowing." He said with a grin.

"Oh, I guess so." Candace sighed. 'Why won't he ask me out? This has been going on long enough' She thought furiously. 

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked, leading her out, hand upon her waist.

"No, don't ask that." Candace muttered, blushing slightly. "You'll only get angry if I tell you." She said quietly.

Sirius pushed the doors open, and stepped out into the windless night where the snow was falling gently to the ground. "No, I won't be mad at you, Candace. I could never be." He said quietly in response.

Candace took a deep breath, and finally spoke. "Sirius...this has been going on long enough." She started. "I mean..."

"No...stop it." Sirius said, putting his finger to her lips.

"See, I told you that you didn't want to hear it." Candace said sadly, looking down at the pristine snow that they were ruining with tracks. 

"No, it's not that," Sirius responded, a strange twinkle in his eyes. 'Here goes, Evans.' He thought before speaking again. "Candace...I know you think I don't care about you because I haven't asked you out yet...but that's definitely not the truth." 

"Well, how am I supposed to..."

"Stop." Sirius said once again. "You mean everything to me, Candace. Seriously...if I didn't have you by my side this year I don't know what I would have done. You're honestly the one girl I've been crazy about for more then two weeks." He grinned.

Candace couldn't help but smile. Even if she liked hearing the words that were coming out of Sirius's mouth, it still didn't satisfy her. If he cared so much, then what was the problem in going out with her? If she couldn't get him to at least admit he might still be with her for the next week, how was she ever supposed to know what he was feeling for her?

"And all these months I've been afraid if I asked you out, you would find some other guy and just drop me like that, so I figured, why get into that if it's only going to lead to pain..."

"But obviously I wouldn't have if I still feel this way about you and I haven't gone off with some other guy even though we haven't even been going out." Candace answered, taking Sirius's hand in hers. 

"I know it was stupid, Candace, but it's just what I was feeling and that's why I never asked you out. It never had anything to do with not liking you because I actually think...that I'm in love with you." Sirius finally said. 

Candace's heart skipped a beat. He said he loved her?!

"And I want to be with you." He swallowed. "Forever." 

Candace stopped in her tracks. Had he just said that he wanted to be with her? Was he finally asking her out? Sirius turned to face her to see why she had stopped, and instead of saying anything in response, Candace wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.Sirius broke away and smiled. "So, is that a yes that you'll be my girlfriend?" He smiled.

"What do you think?" Candace asked, kissing him once again. 

Lily giggled insanely. "Did you see her face when we walked out without buying anything else?" She asked, not walking, but practically skipping. She wasn't drunk, but a bit...tipsy. 

"Mad disappointment." James grinned. He couldn't believe his luck. Sure he felt like a Grade A heel for making Lily a bit...off but hadn't he done that to Candace at his surprise party too? He hadn't been the one who spiked her drink, but he hadn't exactly told her that they were spiked either. Still the way she was acting around him...he would have done anything for it. 

"You know, I think she liked you, James." Lily giggled. 

"Ah, you know, she and I never would have worked together." James laughed. "I think I fancy girls who actually have teeth." He finished with a grin. He couldn't ever remember smiling so much. He never smiled like he did when he was with Lily...there was just no way anyone else could make him feel the way she made him feel. And to think that she would never return his feelings...his stomach dropped in pain. He would have given anything in the world for her to care for him- for her to be his. 

'You've got it bad, Potter. You really do.' He told himself.

"You wanna go down to the park?" Lily asked. "There's probably no one there anymore but it's still really pretty." Lily laughed wondering why she felt so...hyper. Sadly she couldn't exactly put her finger on why at the moment. 

"Sure. Lead the way." James grinned. Five minutes later he found himself entering a rather pretty park with a fountain that had frozen over due to the weather, and several park benches that were decorated with glistening snow. Statues were placed around the park alongside a pathway which wound around the park around several trees which were bare of leaves, and a few evergreens as well. It truly was a beautiful park. 

"This is a nice park." James grinned.

"Yeah, when I was little, my mum used to take me and Petunia to London to go shopping, and we would always come here to eat lunch." Lily giggled. "Back before Petunia started hating me." She commented.

"I'm sure she doesn't hate you." James responded, looking down at Lily, who was a good eight inches shorter then him. 

"Oh yes she does." Lily said firmly. And no one could convince her otherwise. "She hates me because I'm a witch. Honestly that's the only reason. We used to get along perfectly until I was accepted to Hogwarts. She thinks I'm some sort of freak...that I don't belong in the family any more because I'm different. I'm hated at home because I'm a witch and I'm hated at school because I'm a muggle. It never makes any sense." Lily said, attempting to shake a bit of the snow out of her hair as she and James strolled down the snow covered pathways of the park. 

"No one hates you. And if they do they're not worth your time." James responded. "It doesn't matter what kind of blood you have. You're one of the smartest girls at school and you're a muggle born. So what if Harmony is a pure blood? She's doing horribly in almost every class while you're passing with flying colors." He grinned.

"What do you expect? Harmony's manic depressive." Lily laughed in response. It wasn't a nice thing to laugh at, but she didn't really care at the moment.

"I guess that always is true." James grinned sheepishly in response. 

A clock near by chimed ten thirty...they had been wandering around for a lot longer then they had thought. "You know, we should probably get back to your house." James said softly, stopping. "Your parents are probably up waiting, and we probably shouldn't keep them waiting for much longer."

"I suppose you're right." Lily sighed. "We have to get our bags though from the luggage check at the station."

"I'll meet you there." James grinned, disappearing with a pop. Lily followed suit, and she found herself in the darkness of the parking lot of King's Cross Station. She entered behind James, and proceeded to the luggage check.

"Potter, two trunks." James said, handing the man at the desk the ticket stub they had received when they dropped their things off. They had decided to just check both trunks under Potter so they wouldn't have to fill out two forms. 

"Trysta!" The man called to a teenage girl with long blood red hair. "Potter...they have two trunks." The girl named Trysta looked James and Lily up and down, then disappeared into the back appearing moments later with their trunks upon a cart. James took the cart from her, and he and Lily turned to leave. Though they were able to catch the sentence muttered by Trysta to the man behind the desk.

"Ain't they a bit young to be married?" Trysta asked.

"Trysta!" The man scolded.

Lily and James burst into laughter, hurrying out of the station as fast as they could through the crowd. "Married?" Lily laughed. 

"Nothing gets past her, does it?" James grinned, heaving his trunk off of the cart. Lily followed suit, then kicked the cart toward the cart drop off. 

"Come here." Lily said, taking James hand so she could lead him back to her house. Even when apparating, one must know where they're going, so Lily would have to hold on to James through the whole process. 

James felt the heat creep up in his neck as they disappeared with a pop, appearing moments later in front of a large white house. James looked around. They seemed to be a great deal outside of London, for there were large open fields of snow, and each house was considerably large compared to those in the city. 

Lily picked her trunk up, nodded for James to follow, and started up to the house. She pushed the door open, and entered into the dark house. All was dark minus the living room where a movie was running. 

Lily and James entered to see Petunia and her oaf of a boyfriend cuddling on the couch. Upon spotting Lily, Petunia jumped up and strode over to her. "Where have you been?" she asked angrily. "Mum and dad were waiting up for hours. They were under the impression you were to be home around seven! They even had dinner set up for you!" Petunia obviously wasn't very disappointed about Lily's late arrival, but she would always be willing to jump in and keep guard for her parents when it allowed her to yell at Lily.

"It isn't that late, Petunia." Lily insisted. It's only ten fifty! 

"Late enough for our dear parents. It's very rude of you to just stroll in here and..." And then she caught sight of James. Oh how Lily would have laughed had she not been so shocked as Petunia's face turned bright red. "Excuse me...I must seem so rude. I'm Petunia." She said, extending her bony hand to James. "And you are?" She inquired blinking at him politely. Obviously she didn't know he was a wizard. Apparently she was under the impression that Lily picked some normal guy up somewhere. Though if Lily wasn't mistaken, Petunia was always under the impression that Lily could never in her life find someone normal. 

"Er...James Potter." James said, blinking slightly in shock. 

"Very pleased to meet you, James." Petunia smiled. "Guests are always welcome in this household." She said with a sappy sweet smile.

"Shut up, Petunia. You don't even live here anymore." Lily snapped acidly. "Come on, James. I'll show you your..."

"Would you like me to show you to your bedroom?" Petunia asked, cutting Lily off mid-sentence. 

"Erm...I think Lily was going to..." James started awkwardly.

"Nonsense. Come along." She said, leading James up the stairs, linking elbows with him. Lily rolled her eyes and followed behind making sure Petunia wouldn't do anything funny. Lily was starting to be able to expect anything from Petunia, the deranged little girl she was. 

"Here is your bedroom. I hope everything is in order for you. Can I get you anything?" Petunia asked with a rather large smile.

"I...I think I'm good, thanks." James stuttered in response, obviously completely shocked by Petunia's reaction upon meeting him.

"Petunia...you left your boyfriend on the couch downstairs. Mind you go tend to him?" Lily snapped irritably.

"Oh, yes," Petunia's smile vanished. "Of course. Well, it was very good meeting you, James, and I suppose I'll see you in the morning."

"S'pose so..." James responded, looking utterly bewildered. Petunia turned and casually strutted down the stairs.

"Be right back..." Lily muttered, following Petunia. Once she and Petunia had both reached the bottom step, Lily pulled her aside. "What's up with that?" She asked, a slight glare in her vibrantly green eyes.

"What's up with what?" Petunia asked sweetly.

"How you're treating James." Lily answered simply.

"Oh, you know I always loved to make my dear Lily miserable." Petunia grinned wickedly.

Lily snorted. "You think James and I are dating?" she laughed.

"Well, of course I do. Why else would you have brought him home?"

"Because he's failing Muggle Studies class and needed help studying. I'm his tutor. That is it. His tutor and his friend." Lily said slowly and clearly, hoping it would penetrate through Petunia's six inch thick skull. 

"Well then..." Petunia responded, disappointment spreading across her face.

"Whatever. Good night." Lily called irritably, climbing back up the steps. She knocked softly on James' door, and entered upon his response. 

"Your sister is...interesting." James grinned, standing up from where he was sitting on the bed. 

"She is an odd one, isn't she?" Lily asked with a small smile. James simply smiled in response, looking into her emerald green eyes. She had such beautiful exotic eyes...they completed the beauty of her face. "Well, I'm going to go to bed. I'm just across the hall so you know where to find me." Lily said, turning to leave the room.

"Night." James said in response.

Two hours later, James lie awake in his guest bed at Lily's, unable to sleep. Across the hall...she was right across the hall form him. James stood quietly to his feet and tip toed across the hallway. Lily's door was open by but a crack. James pushed the door open slightly and peeked in only to see her sleeping peacefully in her bed. Oh how she looked like an angel. 

A small smile upon his face, James slowly and quietly shut the door, then returned to his bed and was finally able to drift into a deep slumber. 


	20. A Gingerbread Cookie Village

Chapter Twenty

A Gingerbread Cookie Village

Lily rolled over in her bed, groaning slightly. She had a headache...not a bad one, but enough of one to be an annoyance. She finally opened her eyes and blinked around her bedroom which was flooded with winter sunlight. She heaved herself out of bed to the window, drawing back her curtains to look outside. The ground was covered with soft fluffy snow that remained undisturbed in the early morning, for no one had yet ventured outside.

Lily crawled out of bed, checking the clock on her vanity. Eight thirty. Lily sighed, her gaze slipping to the wall where she had pictures pinned up of her family, friends and...her and Remus. Lily sighed and pulled the pictures of Remus off, stowing them in her bedside table's drawer. She wouldn't throw them out because she had indeed gone out with him for about two years, but she didn't exactly want to look at the pictures anymore. Especially because she didn't feel the same way about him anymore.

Lily quickly dressed in a comfortable pair of sweat pants, and a white tank top before hurrying down into the kitchen where her mother was standing over a frying pan cooking breakfast.

"Mum!" Lily said happily.

"Lily flower!" Her mother responded with a smile, abandoning her cooking to run over and give Lily a bone crushing hug. "Oh, my Lily flower is finally home!" Her mother said happily, squeezing Lily tightly, squeezing every breath of air out of Lily's body.

"Mum, I can't breathe..." Lily protested between gasps.

"Oh, I've missed you so much. And your father and I were so worried last night. But your dear sister reassured us that you were safe, and said she would wait up for you, and if you weren't home by midnight she would wake us up and we would send the cops out to find you...but I'm so glad you're back!" Her mother continued, completely ignoring Lily's comment, continuing the break every bone in Lily's back.

"Mum..." Lily gasped feebly. Footsteps appeared, clunking down each step, and they were shortly joined by James as he entered the kitchen. A grin spread across his face when he saw Lily standing there, attempting to pull away in protest. "Help!" She mouthed silently.

"Er...morning Lily." James grinned. Lily's mother dropped hold of Lily instantly and spun around to see James. "Morning, Mrs. Evans." James added with a rather awkward nod.

"Mum, this is James, James this is..."

"Oh, call me Joan, please." Lily's mother insisted with a rather warm smile toward James.

"Er...good to meet you, Joan." James grinned meekly, ruffling his messy black hair.

----------

"Hey Bianca." Remus grinned, taking a seat on the couch next to Bianca in the empty Common Room. Candace and Sirius were elsewhere, most likely having a rather passionate scene, and Alice was off with Frank while Peter had disappeared to the depths of rat world down some sewer or gutter system or something of the sort. No one really knew where Peter went anymore.

"Oh, hi Remus." Bianca said quietly, smiling slightly. Remus grinned slightly as a stray strand of dirty blonde hair fell into her face. He reached his hand up and pushed it back, tucking it behind her ear for her, resting slightly on her cheek. She gasped, beginning to blush.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to scare you or anything." Remus muttered, withdrawing his hand from her face.

"Oh no!" Bianca exclaimed. "You're fine..." she finished somewhat awkwardly. Remus smiled guiltily in response. Things were going to be a lot more difficult then he thought. He had really fallen for her...

---------

Lily and James climbed up the snow covered hill behind Lily's house, going nowhere in particular, plainly walking to do something rather then just sit around.

"It seems strange that it's already Christmas Eve." Lily said quietly, making sure her footing was firm on the hill so she wouldn't go sliding down twenty feet.

"Yeah, I guess." James muttered in response, looking at the ground. He was still in disbelief that he was with Lily for Christmas break and the fact that her parents had asked him to call them Joan and John. Like they had actually approved of him...

Lily smiled as they finally reached the top of the hill, overlooking the forest that Lily had explored every inch of in her childhood. Just when she thought she had known everything there was to know about that forest, she always discovered something new.

"Just a forest down there?" James asked curiously.

"Yeah, and a couple streams run through but it's nothing worth seeing at this time of year. It's beautiful in the summer, though." Lily smiled, memories flooding into her mind. James smiled at the expression on Lily's face...it was so beautiful. She was so beautiful...so pure. She was a goddess. The ultimate goddess.

Lily sighed, lowering herself to a sitting position in the foot deep snow. She could hardly believe that James was with her, and that he wasn't driving her off the wall. In fact his presence was actually welcome.

'I can't believe I thought all those things about him yesterday...' Lily thought, running her gloved hands through the soft snow. James plopped down onto the ground next to Lily, and began packing it into small snowballs watching Lily's every move. He couldn't stop looking at her.

Lily looked up and caught his gaze. She smiled slightly, and looked back down at the snow. "I wonder how everyone is doing back at school." Lily smiled.

"Ah, I'm sure they're fine. Probably glad to have complete run of the place.

"Of course." Lily grinned in response. "I'm sure Candace and Sirius are enjoying the peace."

"What's that supposed to mean?" James laughed. "Not saying our dear friends are doing dirty things, now are you?" he asked in mock astonishment.

"Oh, you know they are." Lily giggled. "You did so called dirty things with Candace the minute you got her drunk enough." She laughed.

"What can I say?" Was the only thing James could think to say in response.

"I don't know. What can you say, James?" Lily grinned, enjoying picking on him.

"That I didn't enjoy it." James answered with a slight shrug, not really wanting to touch on the subject much more then they already had. For some reason is was just so...awkward. Especially because he had done it to prove something to Lily. And the fact that he had been comparing Candace to Lily when he was kissing her wasn't exactly something he was willing to tell her.

"James Potter didn't enjoy making out with Candace Daily?" Lily laughed in disbelief.

"Well, not really." James replied truthfully wishing that the topic would pass. Though he knew he had gotten himself into the matter. "I mean, I never really had feelings for her. I was just not in the best of moods that night. And Candace just couldn't keep her hands off of me, so..." James grinned with an air of cockiness. The air that Lily had hated for so long, yet amazingly found it very endearing at the moment.

"Oh sure." She laughed. She wondered what he could have been so upset about, though she refrained from asking. Doing so could lead her to some interesting answers she never wanted to hear.

"We should probably head back. My mum will be wanting help getting ready for dinner." Lily said quietly. James stood to his feet, and reached his hand down to help her up. Lily smiled, taking his hand. When she finally managed to stand up, she was merely inches from his face... Lily gasped, her heart rate quickening at an alarming rate. James didn't know what to do...he would have to move only two inches to kiss her...but did he dare? It didn't seem like she was making any action to stop him from doing so...

But for some reason it just didn't seem right... Lily smiled nervously, stepping away. James sighed, and started down the slippery hill with Lily at his side. Who knew what would have happened had he tried to kiss her...it could have ruined everything. Yet what if it hadn't? He would live forever in doubt wondering what it would be like to kiss Lily Evans, for he knew he would never get an opportunity as perfect as the one he had just had.

------

Lily placed the plates out on the dining room table, James following close behind her setting out the silverware, each utensil in it's respectable place. It amazed Lily that he actually knew how to set a table. Most people, guys in particular, didn't have a clue on the matter of where the fork, knife, and spoon all went.

The front door opened, and a cold bit of air entered the house as Petunia and Vernon entered, placing their coats on the coat rack by the door. "Happy Christmas Eve!" Petunia called happily to her parents, giving her mother and father a kiss on the cheek.

"Ah, Lily." Vernon said with what he seemed to think was a pleasant smile. "I believe our encounter last night was no less then dismal, but it is excellent to see you again. And in such good health." Vernon said, shaking Lily's hand once again. And just as before, it felt like her hand was a sponge that he had just wrung all the water from. James blinked at the large man slightly as he placed out the remaining silverware upon the table.

"Oh, Vernon, meet my friend James from school." Lily said, motioning toward James. "James, this is Vernon, Vernon, James." James nodded curtly, making it seem like he was too busy fiddling with table settings to come over and properly introduce himself. There was just something James didn't like about Vernon. James wasn't sure what it was, but whatever it was, he knew Lily was right about this man's character.

"Oh good, you two are here!" Lily's mother said, setting a bowl of mashed potatoes out on the table. "Hurry now, everyone take a seat and we'll get dinner started!" She hurried back into the kitchen, her shoes tapping on the tile as she went.

James stepped forward and pulled a seat out from the table, standing back to allow Lily to sit. Smiling slightly, Lily took a seat as James pushed her in to the table.

"Well, let's get started." Lily's mother smiled, taking some turkey, then passing the plate to James.

"So, Lily, James, what do you study off at school?" Vernon questioned with an overly friendly smile.

Petunia practically jumped out of her seat. "Oh, that doesn't matter!" She said, laughing shrilly. "Just the fact that, you know, they're learning and...can I get you anything Vernon dear?" Petunia asked in a ferocious attempt to occupy Vernon enough so he would forget about his question. James raised his eyes at the oddity of Petunia's reaction. She wasn't ashamed of Lily and James being magic, was she? Lily must have been telling the truth when she told him that Petunia thought she was a freak for studying magic. It was the only explanation.

Lily looked down at her plate. Oh lord. She could already see it coming. The, "my sister is an abnormal, deranged little freak" speech.

"No, Petunia. Thank you, but I'm fine. And one shall never be punished for being curious." Vernon said, winking at Lily who rolled her eyes in response. "Perhaps I shall get a response if I ask again?" He asked.

"Petunia dear, Lily...and James, I suppose you could come as well. Would you please meet me in the kitchen to grab the few remaining dishes of food that we've forgotten?" Lily's mother asked sweetly, standing to her feet. Lily, James, and Petunia stood as well and followed Lily's mother into the kitchen, James looking slightly bewildered.

"Petunia, dear. You can't hide it forever. What if this man is, like you've been saying, the one?" Lily's mother whispered. James looked even more confused.

"What's going on?" He asked, shaking his head slightly.

"Petunia thinks that we're freaks, therefore doesn't want to tell sweet little Vernon that we're magic." Lily said, glaring at Petunia.

"Stop! I don't want to talk about your abnormality under this roof!" Petunia said, a bit too loudly.

"You will not speak about your sister and her boyfriend like that!" Lily mother responded in a defensive tone.

"Mum...he's not my boyfriend." Lily interjected quietly.

"Er..yeah." James agreed, though he wished it wasn't so.

"Oh dear..." Lily's mother blushed in embarrassment. "And all this time..." she started, though was interrupted.

"Everything all right in there?" Vernon questioned from the dining room where only he and Lily's father remained.

"Yes, just fine, Vernon." Petunia growled, her voice dripping with annoyance.

"We're going to go out there, and we're going to tell the truth. If he leaves you because your sister is a witch, Petunia, then he isn't worth it." Lily's mother said firmly. Petunia let out a small whine, but Joan glared at her with such firmness that she withdrew. Lily's mother strode back into the dining room and took a seat back where she was before their little rendezvous in the kitchen, and watched Petunia expectantly.

"Well, Petunia?" She asked, glaring at her. Lily just watched in silence, feeling a bit hurt for causing such dismay to her sister for simply being who she was. It was making her feel more abnormal and hated by the minute.

James seemed to sense the worry in Lily's face, and he wished there was something he could do. He wasn't really bothered that Petunia thought he was a complete and utter freak for being a wizard because, you know, he could turn a desk into a pig while Muggles couldn't make two plus two equal five. James was proud of his magic ability, but apparently Lily didn't feel the exact same way about it.

"Petunia's ashamed because James and I attend a school of magic." Lily finally burst. She couldn't take the silence anymore. She was getting sick of it.

"Magic?" Vernon scoffed. "You mean using the art of deceit to make it look like you can make one thing look like another?" He laughed. "That's ridiculous!"

"No, it's not deceit." Lily snapped. "It's real."

"Petunia dear, are you sure your sister is all right?" Vernon whispered, though Lily heard him.

"I'm fine!" Lily said angrily. "Go ahead. Think I'm a freak just like she does. What difference will it make? I go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I study Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Divination..." Lily burst, her face turning rather red with anger.

James looked at her, his eyes slightly wide in awe. He had never seen her blow up in such a manner. There must have been a lot of pent up anger behind her outburst, for Lily usually kept her cool. Unless she was dealing with him of course, but that was another story.

Vernon was soundlessly shaking his head, then he began to laugh. "Funny joke. Very funny. All in the spirit of Christmas, I suppose?" He chuckled, taking a sip of wine causing his reddish face to darken.

"It's not a joke." James said, finally piping in to Lily's defense. Her parents simply sat there watching in silence, too afraid to intervene in their discussion.

Vernon laughed again. "What proof do you have for such nonsense?" He laughed.

"I got a letter six and a half years ago when I was eleven that accepted me into Hogwarts. I've gone there every year since then. You can dig through my trunk. All you'll find is a bunch of spell books, wizard robes and even my wand." Lily snapped.

"Petunia....?" He asked, looking at Petunia in bewilderment.

"It's true." Petunia managed to mumble. "It's all true."

"Can't be! It's impossible!" Vernon burst. "This is all nonsense! I thought you were a logical person, Petunia!" He said, looking utterly shocked.

"I don't condone to what she's doing, Vernon! It's not my fault that she's some witch freak!" Petunia burst.

"This, this is...a distasteful joke!" Vernon managed to spit. "There is no such thing as magic!"

"That's where you wrong." James said quietly.

"Ridiculous! Completely and absolutely ludicrous!" Vernon exploded, his round face reddening in anger.

"Vernon, please contain yourself." Lily's mother said politely.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Evans. I believe I'll have to retire early. I don't appreciate this kind of jest, or whatever joke you're trying to pull." Vernon snapped, stepping to his feet. "Merry Christmas, and goodnight all." He said, exiting the dining room. Moments later the front door of the house slammed, the wreath upon the outer door shaking violently, the bells jingling as they crashed to the ground.

"Oh dear..." Lily's mother managed to softly murmur. But Petunia wasn't going to let Lily get away with what she had done. Or what Petunia thought she had done. Lily had just made the man that Petunia was in love with run away from her in fright. And that wasn't going to be forgiven very easily.

"You...you abnormal, deformed, wretch! You witch!" Petunia shrieked.

"Petunia!" Lily's mother said, rather appalled.

"Petunia dear, go upstairs and get some rest." Lily's father commanded. But Petunia refused to budge.

"You deserve to be burned at the stake like all of those other witches in the Salem Witch Trials!" She shrieked. Lily felt a knot forming in her throat. She was sick of not being accepted no matter where she went. At home she was an abnormal freak, at school she was a mudblood. No one would ever be satisfied with her because she wasn't born into a wizarding family. And it was really beginning to wear away at Lily. She couldn't handle much more, and Petunia was about to push her over the edge.

"I hate you!" Petunia shrieked, Lily's parents in the background telling Petunia to go to her room. "I wish you had never been born! You witch! I wish you would die!"

Unable to take any more of it, Lily stood to her feet in fury, storming into the kitchen and out the side door into the winter night. Unlike the turmoil in the kitchen, outside was peaceful and serene, snow flakes falling gently to the ground, lights twinkling through the snow. Not even stopping to close the door, Lily began to run toward the small town nearby where no one would be out. All the small shops would have closed, and Lily would be guaranteed peace there.

Finally reaching the large fountain at the center of the village, Lily slowed to a walk, her breath rising in the air. Tears stung her eyes. Tears for the fact that there were always people who would refuse to accept her for who she was. For a reason uncontrollable to her. She was sick of it. She despised it, and more or less was deeply hurt by it.

Lily's parents stared in awe as Lily jumped up from the table and tore out the door. Petunia sat down, slightly out of breath from yelling so much, her face red in anger. James couldn't believe the things Lily's own sister had just said to her. Lily wasn't the wretch. Petunia was.

"That was really low." James growled at Petunia. "Very low. Saying that to your own sister. That Vernon may be the flavor of the month or what-not, but you have to live with Lily for the rest of your life. I hope it was worth making her hate you. Because if she does hate you, you without a doubt deserve it." James finished, getting up as well. He hurried to the coatrack by the front door and grabbed his coat as well as Lily's making out the door after her, shutting it softly behind him. He pulled his coat on quickly, folding Lily's gently over his left arm.

She had already gotten quite the head start, so all James could really do was follow her foot prints in the snow. He couldn't believe Petunia. She really was a cold hearted girl. James felt sorry for narrow people such as her. Those who cared about what others thought of them more then they cared about loving their family. He almost wished misery upon Petunia for making Lily hurt in such a way. And even if she tried to deny the pain for anger, she couldn't. James had seen the look on her face when Petunia spoke to her, and it was filled with sorry, and even regret.

James finally came to a small village area where several small shops were placed in a square pattern. The lights of the buildings were out, and the only lights that remained were those of the street lamps.

He finally spotted her in the middle of the village standing under a street lamp in front of a frozen over fountain, snowflakes caught in her long red hair and tears falling down her soft face. James slowed his pace, and approached her with caution. He realized she might not be too happy to see him, or anyone else at the moment, but he couldn't have just stayed at her house not knowing what had happened to her.

"Hey." James said softly handing her coat to her. Lily took it appreciatively and pulled it on. "You all right?" He asked, somewhat unnecessarily as she obviously wasn't.

Lily sniffled, and nodded slightly.

"You shouldn't listen to what she said." James said quietly. "None of it is true."

"I don't care if what she says is true or not. The point is that she truly wishes that I would drop dead this very instant." Lily choked. "My own sister wishes I would die. She would choose her idiot boyfriend over me, she would choose a lousy bum on the side of the highway over me."

"She's just confused..." James tried to interject.

"You don't understand, James. It's different for you." Lily said, finally turning to face him, her tear streaked face red with anger. "You were born into a pureblood family. You aren't forced to associate with Muggles while I am. And because I am, I'm a dirty mudblood." Lily spat.

"No you're not. You're worth so much more then any of the purebloods in the world, Lily." James responded quickly, his hazel eyes soft in the faint light from the street lamp.

"You're just saying that." Lily muttered, looking away.

"No I'm not. It doesn't matter what blood you have. Lucius Malfoy is a pureblood and there are no redeeming qualities in that kid." James said seriously. "And Wormtail...er...sorry, Peter. He's a pure blood but he still can't tell the top of a cauldron from the bottom."

Lily smiled weakly in response as she wiped some of the tears from her face. "I'm just...I just wish it would stop. I feel so rejected. Like everyone's thrown me out on the street and doesn't want me anymore." she sighed, feeling rather awkward about telling James so much.

"I would never do that to you, Lily." James said softly, realizing that things were going to end bad once again, just like they had when he had told her that he loved her weeks before. Lily turned to face James smiling weakly once again.

James couldn't help but stare. Even though she was devastated and crying, she was the most beautiful girl there ever was. He rubbed his eyes in exhaustion, though he wished he were touching her instead. She ran her hand through her long red hair, and he wished that his hand was hers, tangling it in her beautiful hair. She smiled weakly and he couldn't help but want to kiss her. It took every bit of self control that he had to not jump forward and touch her.

It was beginning to become unbearable. He sighed and closed his eyes trying to resist from looking at her. But he couldn't hold himself back any longer.

He stepped forward and pressed his lips to hers. Lily's eyes widened in shock, but she made no move to stop him, nor did she want him to stop despite the fact that her heart was pounding up into her throat. James pulled away and stepped back turning rather red, looking at his shoes. "I'm sorry...I don't know what I was thinking...I..." James stuttered, extremely angry with himself for not being able to contain his lust. But all the while he couldn't help but think that he had just kissed Lily. It had been the single thing he had wanted to do since the third year or so. And he had just done it. And she hadn't slapped him across the face yet, nor run away.

Lily blushed as well, but couldn't help but feel that all her pain was lifted the moment his lips touched hers. "James..." She said softly, drawing his attention back to her rather then his shoes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly at first, then slowly becoming more and more passionate.

James stomach dropped. She had come forth and kissed him in return. Happiness surged through James and a feeling of true bliss washed over him. He had been waiting for such an incident his entire life. And here it was. Lily did not despise him anymore, and now it seemed that she cared about him in return. James ran his hands through her red hair just as he had wanted to do for so long before. Their bodies came closer together until they were pressed upon each other, arms wrapped tightly around one another as if they were afraid the other would slip away from them, that they would disappear.

Lily couldn't believe it...James had kissed her, and once he had pulled away she had kissed him in return! This was the boy that she had absolutely loathed for years. And yet there she was in the middle of a gingerbread cookie village under a street lamp in the falling snow, every groove of their bodies touching.

James couldn't believe it...it was almost as if all the years of waiting all the years of her hating him and being entirely disgusted with him was well worth the wait. James knew it would be wonderful to simply kiss her, but to live it out in true form of life, not just his dreams made it about ten times better.

It was almost as if neither of them knew when to stop. Neither of them wanted to end it, to pull away from each other. And it wasn't until the town center clock chimed midnight that Lily and James pulled away from each other, finally deciding to head back to Lily's house, hands entwined as they went.


	21. A Bouquet of Lilies

Oh dear! Don't hurt me! I know this wasn't updated as soon as some of you would have liked, but I did try. I had a bit of a writers block, and I had no idea what to write about! Imagine that! But I think I've got it all planned up to the end (and no, for all those who asked, it doesn't end at Chapter 20. =P I would have given notice if it was the end). Just for a bit of forshadowing (I believe you deserve it since I made you wait so long), you're going to be seeing a lot more of Candace/Sirius and Bianca/Remus stuff because, trust me, for a while here, everything is going to be FAR more interesting with them then with Lily and James. You'll see why later. And I do believe that my personal thank-yous deleted themselves for the last chapter (which sucked becase I spent a lot of time on those), so I do apologize about that. Anyways, enough chit-chat! On with the chappie!

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_Chapter Twenty-One_

_A Bouquet of Lilies_

Lily woke with a start. What a funny dream she had... She had dreamed that she and Petunia had fought...and then James came after her and kissed her...then she kissed him back. Odd.

Blinking slightly, Lily staggered out of bed and began rummaging through her dresser for something to wear. It was Christmas...it was Christmas! Lily suddenly smiled, then stopped when it dawned on her...it hadn't been a dream last night. It had been real! She had kissed James Potter, and she couldn't deny the fact that she had liked it. A lot in fact.

She groaned, realizing how complicating her life was about to get. And her vanity set in. She tossed through her clothes...she had to find something decent to wear. She had to look perfect. She couldn't believe she was actually going through an effort to make herself look good for James, yet that thought didn't stop her from digging deeper and deeper into her wardrobe. Earlier that year he had said she looked hot in a particular mini skirt she had worn to Diagon Alley...

'Must find that...' Lily thought mentally and began digging again. 'Then again...no...everyone in my family will know something's up. Besides, a mini skirt is too sleazy for Christmas.' She dug deeper into the drawer amazed that she hadn't hit the bottom yet.

After about twenty minutes of digging, Lily finally satisfied herself with a simple pair of jeans and a tight white tank top. Why it had taken so long to decide to wear something so simple was beyond Lily. She hurried down the steps, her long red hair swaying gently behind her.

"Morning, Lily flower!" Lily's mother's voice came from the kitchen.

"Morning, mum." Lily said cheerfully. "Where is everyone?" She asked.

"You know men...still sleeping. Petunia refuses to come back though." Joan commented lightly. Lily simply shrugged and entered the kitchen. "Here...give me a hand with this." Lily's mother said, handing her the spatula in which she was cooking rather large pancakes with. Joan hurried away into the dining room, returning with the old candles from the previous night. "Oh, Lily dear...?" Lily's mother said rather awkwardly.

"Yeah?" Lily responded, not quite paying attention as she flipped the pancakes over, her mind elsewhere...as in up the stairs and in the guest bedroom across the hallway from her bedroom. 'Stop it!' Lily commanded herself mentally. 'Not thinking about him! Not at all...'

"I wanted to apologize about that little slip to Petunia about that dear boy James being your boyfriend..."

Lily almost laughed. "It's fine, mum. Honestly. I don't care at all."

"Oh you don't?" Lily's mother asked, looking rather relieved. "I was afraid you would be ferociously angry with me."

How was Lily supposed to say, oh, last night he wasn't my boyfriend, but now he kind of is? Even though he wasn't...they had just kissed...for a long time...that was all.

Footsteps were heard on the stairwell, and moments later James entered the kitchen. "Oh, good morning, James." Lily's mother said with a smile.

"Good morning. Merry Christmas," James said with a smile, handing a single rose to Lily's mother. "to a wonderful host." Lily's mother took the rose and gasped. Lily was in awe as well. He had given her mother a rose! If he was aiming to win over both Lily AND her mother, why he had done quite nicely.

"Oh James, thank you! You shouldn't have."

James approached Lily at the frying pan, where she quickly put the spatula aside. His heart was racing, he had goose bumps from simply seeing her standing there looking so beautiful. And whenever he thought about the previous night, it was almost like his stomach completely dropped. If she told him to walk straight off a cliff, why he probably would have done it.

"Merry Christmas, Lily." He said quietly, presenting her with a bouquet of white lilies. Lily accepted it, smiling so much that it was almost impossible for her to stop.

"Now isn't that lovely!" Lily's mother said, looking at the beautiful white lilies. Lily had no idea where James had managed to get the flowers...she had been with him practically every minute he was at her house. "Why don't I get these into a vase with some water..." Lily's mother said, gently taking the flowers away from Lily. Lily took her mothers momentary absence to her advantage. She nodded toward James to leave the kitchen, and quietly made her way out.

"Want to...go for a walk?" Lily asked awkwardly.

"Sure." James responded quickly, a chill running up his spine, goose bumps appearing on his arms once again. He pulled his coat on quickly, and followed Lily out the door.

"I think my mother's going to join your fan club now." Lily said with a small smile as they trekked through the snow in front of Lily's house, making their way toward the hill they had climbed up the previous day.

"Oh...well..." James laughed simply in response. Almost as if on cue, they both stopped behind the house. James leaned down and kissed Lily gently, her soft red hair brushing against his cheek. He pulled away, his mind racing. He could hardly believe he had gotten the nerve to kiss her again, but it was almost as if...as if it just came naturally.

Lily smiled, her heart beginning to race. Her smile was contagious, and James soon found himself grinning like an idiot as well.

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"Sirius, where are we going?" Candace laughed as Sirius pulled her along an underground tunnel of some sort.

"Just wait." Sirius grinned. He couldn't believe he had finally gotten the nerve to ask Candace out, and he simply wanted to kiss Lily for making him do it. "We're not too far now. Only about five more minutes."

Candace couldn't help but just laugh. "This has to be against the rules." She insisted.

"Of course it is!" Sirius grinned. "When have I ever done anything that was in the rule books?"

"Never?" Candace suggested with a grin.

"Damn right." Sirius responded. The underground tunnel began to slope upwards, and Sirius knew they were coming close to their destination. He slowed himself and Candace to a walk, and finally the famed trap door that the Marauders had used countless times throughout their Hogwarts career, came into view. Sirius creaked it open an inch, glanced around, and finally pushed it all the way open, hoisting himself up through the small square hole. He turned back and offered his hand to Candace, who took it gladly, and pulled her out of the tunnel with ease.

"Where are we?" Candace whispered, as a feeling inside her made her a bit anxious as to Sirius's secrecy before he had crawled out of the trap door.

Sirius simply put his fingers to his lips, and took Candace's right hand and began to lead her up a set of stairs leading them into the dark store of Honeydukes.

"Sirius?" Candace gasped, looking around. "Honeydukes?"

"Shh...the owners live upstairs. They close down at ten o'clock." It was indeed ten thirty, but Sirius knew a way to bust themselves out of the store.

Candace obeyed, and followed Sirius to a window which he creaked open slightly with a switch on the bottom, then pushed the rest open himself. He pulled himself through the window, then reached back to pull Candace through. Once she was out, he pushed the window shut, leaving it open simply a crack so they could return, yet people simply passing by wouldn't notice that it was open.

Sirius grinned mischievously, and took Candace by the hand, his other hand falling into the pocket of his pants.

"So, you've smuggled me to Hogsmeade." Candace grinned, flattery setting in. How many girls at Hogwarts could say that their boyfriend brought them to Hogsmeade on Christmas when the school wasn't even going? Not too many. If Lily ever went out with James, she could be added to the list, but sadly Candace didn't ever see that happen. 'Poor James.' Candace thought. 'She's probably at home leading him on to no extent, then she'll tell him how much she hates him again. Poor kid can never win.'

"Where do you want to go?" Sirius asked.

Popping back to the present, Candace looked up at Sirius. "I don't really care. Just as long as I'm with you." She smiled.

"What's something you've always wanted to do?" Sirius asked, looking down at Candace. God she was beautiful. And to think he had been so blind to just think that his little benefits were enough.

Candace thought for a while. She smiled slightly, looking up to the sky. "I've always wanted to go stargazing with the guy of my dreams." Candace couldn't believe what kind of cliches she was resorting to, but when she was with Sirius, she couldn't think about her senses, or logic, or anything at all that one would believe would make a person intelligent. It was almost as if she simply melted at the site of him as of late.

"Stargazing?" Sirius grinned. "Then come on." He quickened his pace, one spot in particular in mind.

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Lily and James sat in silence at the top of the snow covered hill, side by side, James arm around Lily's shoulder, her head resting upon his. Neither of them had a clue as to how everything was happening...it was so spontaneous.

"How...how did this all happen?" James finally got the nerve to ask, breaking the silence.

Lily blinked a few times, looking down at the forest beneath them. "I'm not sure." She responded simply. "I...I don't think I regret it, though." She commented, tensing up slightly as she said so.

"I don't either." James answered, pulling Lily a bit closer to him. "What made you change your mind?" He asked Lily quietly.

"About what?"

"About me."

Lily sighed, thinking slightly. "I don't really know about that either. It's like one minute there's this, no offense or anything, but this arrogant jerk just annoying me to death, and then...I don't know. You slowly evolved into being who you are now." Lily tried to explain.

"I never changed at all." James answered truthfully.

"You changed how you acted around me."

James sighed. "I know." He answered truthfully. How was he supposed to say that all the while he was trying to impress her? That he would do anything to get any form of attention what-so-ever from her. He couldn't say all that. Maybe later, but not at that precise moment. He had just gotten her to seemingly care about him, and telling her everything there was to know could possibly scare her away forever. James felt like he was balancing on tip toes to keep Lily's affection that it was almost making him want to turn and run away. What if Sirius was right? What if the only reason James had been so driven to like Lily was because he believed she would never return his feelings, and such a thing almost dared him to continue pursuing her?

No. That could never be. James still loved Lily, he was just afraid that he would come so close only to briefly grasp what he had been wanting so badly for so long.

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"Isn't this the perfect spot?" Sirius asked, laying flat on his back in the cold snow, though oblivious to its touch or temperature, his dark eyes aimed skywards.

"How did you know about this?" Candace asked with a smile permanently planted upon her face. The two of them laid in the middle of a small forest clearing at the very edge of Hogsmeade, a frosted over stream to their left, and the best view of the stars that one could find from Hogsmeade.

"Oh, you know, when you know how to get here without having to wait until Hogsmeade weekends, you tend to come a lot. James and I stumbled upon this little spot here at the beginning of the fifth year."

"So," Candace began out of curiosity. "How many other girls have you brought here?"

"What?" Sirius stuttered, rather shocked by Candace's question.

"You know what I said." Candace said with a slight smile. It wasn't like she even cared too much about it, she simply asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, come on, Candace...I mean..." Sirius blathered. "Why d'you have to ask something like that?" Sirius finally settled for.

"OK, now I'm actually interested." Candace said, sitting up to look Sirius in the face. "If it's not that bad, why can't you tell me?"

"Candace, you gotta know that we've known about this spot for two and a half years now, and two years of it I wasn't with you..."

"Just tell me," Candace said, a small smile spreading across her face. "I mean, you can't help it if every girl in the school finds you irresistible." Candace giggled.

Sirius sighed. "I don't know. I can't remember."

"How could you not remember?" The smile upon Candace's face disappeared. "Is this just going to be another, I can't remember things? Take me here once, see all you can get out of me, then dump me?" Candace asked, jumping rather quickly to conclusions that Sirius didn't even want to be touched upon.

"Candace, stop. I've never gone out with a girl for more then a month, much less liked one as long as I've liked you. Lily's told me so many times that you've got me wrapped around your finger that I've lost count. I love you Candace, and from where I'm sitting right now, you're the only girl I've brought here that ever mattered." Sirius said, pressing himself against Candace, who squirmed slightly, and moved away.

"How many girls have you said that to?" Candace asked in an accusing tone.

Sirius sighed in exasperation. "What can I do, Candace? I can't help what I've said before. I can't help what I've done. All I can do is help what I'm going to do now, and in the future, and in the future I can only see myself with you."

Candace bit her tongue, once again wondering how many times he'd said such a thing as he just did.

"I love you, Candace. And I'll tell you the truth. I've never said that to another girl. And I say it to you. I'll say it over and over and never get sick of saying it to you. I love you. And I mean it." Sirius said sincerely.

Candace smiled weakly, looking into Sirius's eyes. "I love you too." She whispered, leaning in to press her lips to his, her arms wrapping around his neck.

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James tangled his hands in Lily's hair, the snow mixing in amongst the fiery glow of her hair. He couldn't believe it. He was laying on top of Lily snogging her! The pig in him wanted more, while the decent, respectable James Potter was marveling at his luck. Lily Evans! He was kissing Lily Evans! Every time he kissed her the same thought ran through his mind, and he would never get sick of thinking about it.

'I'm one helluva lucky guy...' James though wildly as he kissed Lily.

Lily couldn't believe herself! She was snogging James Potter! And liking it! And she had let him get on top of her, and continue to kiss her! Oh, the things that could have evolved from that. And Lily didn't think she was quite ready enough the way it was.

Though something made her mind freeze. And it wasn't the snow. It was a voice. "Lily? James? Lunch is read....Oh my goodness!" Lily's mother's voice came. Lily frantically pushed James off and rolled over, scrambling to her feet, her face so dark of a red that it surpassed her hair's usual flame.

"Mother!" Lily gasped. Lily's mother looked wordlessly from Lily to James. James simply stood looking nervously from Lily to her mother. How embarrassing! For her to just walk up on them like that! And they had thought they were guaranteed privacy up on that hill!

"Lunch is ready, you two." Lily's mother finally said quickly, turning to make her way down the hill, slipping and sliding in certain places. Once the door to the house was shut, Lily looked to James, her face still a bit red. And all they could do was just laugh.

After a few moments, they started down the hill toward the house once again to eat lunch.

Later that night, James had disappeared to take a shower, and Lily was left cleaning dishes with her mother. There was an awkward silence until Lily's mother finally spoke. "I don't know why you lied to me like that last night." She said quietly.

"What?" Lily asked, eyes raised as she placed a plate to dry on the dish rack.

"When I said James was your boyfriend last night, you corrected me and said he wasn't. But from what I saw today, well...I would say quite the opposite!" She said, rubbing a red cloth mindlessly against a serving dish.

"I didn't lie to you when I said that." Lily said truthfully. How could she explain it? "Technically he still isn't even my boyfriend. There was absolutely nothing until last night when he followed me outside after Petunia chewed me up and spit me out."

"Goodness! In my day we would wait until we were dating to...to kiss like that!" Her mother exclaimed. Lily snorted.

"Mum...that was in, what? The 1920's?" She laughed.

"Oh, enough about that, Lily. I'll finish up here. You go to bed."

Lily smiled appreciatively, and dropped her rag on the counter, heading toward the stairs. She climbed up each one softly, finally making it to the next landing precisely as James walked out of the bathroom, his unruly black hair still standing on end even though it was sopping wet. His glasses were slightly fogged from the heat of the bathroom, and he wore a simple t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Oh, hey." James said softly, grinning as he caught sight of Lily.

"I think I'm gonna head off to bed." Lily said softly.

"All right." James said with a smile. "Night then."

Lily smiled in response, disappearing into her room, shutting the door gently behind her. A smile upon her face, Lily sighed and collapsed onto her bed feeling lighter then air.

* * *

Mong- Remus isn't a dick. He's just confused. But he'll be doing some thinking about the certain topic in the next chapter. But what can you say? He's just an immature kid! Thanks so much for the review!

laughingurl- I hope you're still checking now that I've finally updated! Thanks so much for the review, and thanks for reading!

Shamrock13- Hope you liked this last chapter! A bit more fluffiness for everyone here. Thanks so much for the review! I appreciate it!

LightLord- Oh I love spontaneousness. It makes the world go round. Well, that and duct tape. =P Thanks for the review, and thanks for reading!

The Sweet New Zealander- Aww...thanks so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to drop by a review, and thanks for reading! Hope you liked this chapter!

Goddess of Gorgeousness- faints That was such a nice review! feels all fuzzy inside Thanks so so so so so much! I hope you liked this chapter!

LightLordRocks- Hey, thanks! I'm really glad you like my story, even though I'm a bit slow at updating. Thanks so much for dropping the review! I hope you liked this chapter!

Fanatic22- Aww...they do make a good couple don't they? You can't help but love them! Thanks so much for the review! Glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you liked this one!

Optical Illusions- Thanks so much for dropping the review! I really REALLY appreciate it! I really hope you liked this chapter!

courtney- I'm sorry I didn't update sooner! Don't hate me! Hope you liked this chapter though, if you're even still reading!

Yankee Torp- So glad you liked that last chapter! I really hope you liked this one too! And thanks so much for dropping the review. It made all the difference.

Red Emerald- I love cliche little fluffy scenes too. Lol. Thanks so much for dropping the review! I really appreciate it!

starlett13- You think I've improved? jumps Yay! Some people think it's an insult when someone says they've improved, but it makes me happy. By the end of the day the point is to be the best writer you can be in my opinion! I'm not sure how long it took me to add this chapter, but I hope it wasn't a month! I'm so sorry that I've been so slow! I'll formulate a plot when I'm lazing around in Mexico so I should have a fantabulous (I hope) chapter ready soon after I get back in a week!

Oosha66- Aww! That's another fuzzy inside review. Thank you so very much! Such fine compliments. I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks so much for reading! I really appreciate it!

dragon-diva- Glad you liked it! I just hope it didn't take me TOO long to update! Thanks so much for reviewing, and thanks for reading as well!

Luthein- Mmm...ice cream! What kind? Glad you read it straight through! I love doing that with stories...then you don't have to wait for updates. =P Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope you liked this last chapter!

DIFFEN-DOOFER- Glad you liked that chapter! I really appreciate that you took the time to review, and thanks for reading! Hope you liked this last chapter!

JoyaSagrada- takes advantage of opportunity while Joya is too busy screaming to steal Sirius Muahaha! Thanks so much for the review! I'm really glad you liked it!

LegallyRed- I'm SO SO SO SO SO sorry I haven't sent you the next chapter for Etre Amoureaux. If you want (only if you want, don't feel like I'm making you), since I'm going out of town for a week, you could write the next chapter, and once I get home, I'll jump straight to the next two chapters. I swear, and promise! And if I don't I allow you to flay me within and inch of life! But since I don't wish to be flayed, I promise I will! Don't hate me!

brother- Glad you liked it! Thanks so much for dropping the review! I really appreciate it!

Lil'MissGranger- Lets form a I hate Petunia club, shall we? Along with the I hate Umbridge club! I shall call it, the IHPAU Club! I hope I didn't wait too long to update. shrinks into corner Thanks so much for the review though. I really appreciate it!

Agloechen- Aww...fuzzy feeling Thank you so much for the review! It made me so happy! I hope you liked this last chapter!

jasmine2003- Ooh! I'm glad you found my story! I hope you like it so far, and I hope you liked this chapter! Thanks so much for reviewing!

Queen of Day Dreams- Yeah, Vernon would have probably reacted differently, but if I had tried to change it, it probably would have taken me another month to update. Thanks so much for dropping the review! I really appreciate it!

Autumn Amethyst- Oh yay! I'm glad you found my story! And gushes Thanks so much for putting my story on your favorites list! And thanks so much for dropping the review! I really, really, REALLY appreciate it!

MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus- Hehe...I love being hyper. I tend to get TOO hyper TOO much though. I think I scare people. Lol. Thanks so much for dropping the review! I appreciate it!

imogenehm- Hey, thanks for dropping the review! I really appreciate it! Hope you liked this chapter!

SeCrEt LiLy- Hehe...you can join the IHPAU (I hate Petunia and Umbridge) club too! Lol. Thanks so much for dropping the review!

black-cat-on-the-wall- Ooh yay! I'm so glad that you liked that last chapter! And thanks so much for dropping the review!

natalie- I'm glad it was worth the wait! I just hope this one was too! Thanks so much for the review!

Frozen In Motion- Hehe...I love singing. lol. Thanks so much for dropping the review! I really appreciate it!

Gryffindor620- Thanks so much for reiviewing, and not just this time but all the times before! I really appreciate having dedicated reviewers! Thanks so much, and I hope you liked this chapter!

Muzzy-Olorea-Isilme-Nause- Red carpet! Fanfare! Yay! Lol...thanks for the review! I really REALLY appreciated it! I hope you liked this chapter too! Oh... and how did you exam go?

wotchertonks- I think I have another member for my IHPAU (I hate Petunia and Umbrige) club! My how it's growing fast! Thanks so much for the review! I really apprecaite it and I hope you liked this last chapter!

Youkai- Hehe...horny little James. Lol. Thanks for the review! And I must ask, now that it's summer, are you going to start up For Your Love and your MWPP ficcies again? I really would like to see them take flight again!

Jessie xxx- I hope I updated soon enough, though something tells me that I didn't. Thanks so much for dropping the review, though! And I hope you liked this chapter!

deep breath Phew! I'm done! Next chapter will come...when it comes. But I'll go for two weeks this time. Must slowly and progressively update faster...


	22. The Voice Of The Werewolf

Hehe...this came a lot sooner then all y'all thought it would, huh? Well, that's because while I didn't have access to the internet in Mexico (which kept me away from role-playing) I had my moms laptop and at one o'clock in the morning, there isn't much to do all by myself. So I wrote! I got this finished, and the majority of the next chapter finished, so be looking for that soon too!

And I'm sorry to a certain person who said that they wanted less of the characters other then Lily and James, but 1) I wrote this before I read your review and 2) I felt that I really had to establish something like this so Remus became more...well, Remus rather then the ass hole he's been this entire story so far. Also to Ariel2JLP, nope, story isn't finished, and yup, that Sorting Hat song was aaaaall mine. grins As a final note to my readers, Fanatic22 coughEmily Larsoncough be payin' attention to some of the names in here. You should be pleased...=D

And is it just me or in the PoA movie, was Remus SO totally acting like he was in love with Lily? I mean, come on! grins like an idiot

Sorry though...no time for personal thank you's right now!

And as a final note, for some reason I really liked writing this chapter...and to dragon-diva, yes, I'm having a BLAST writing this! And Stephanie, you crack me up. =D

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Chapter Twenty-Two

The Voice Of The Werewolf

Remus sat alone in his dormitory rubbing his chin thoughtfully. How exactly was he to woo Bianca? She was so bashful, so shy, and as unlikely as Lily to throw herself at someone. It would take a lot of precision and careful planning to get her to even fall for him. Perhaps he would have to wait until Sirius and James were at least in the same castle so they could perhaps pull one of their famous Marauder tricks with him.

Yet just thinking about James made Remus surge with jealousy. Oh sure, he had gone to Lily's house to have dinner with her family from time to time, but he had never been allowed to stay the night, nor had she ever invited him to. And they were even dating! As far as Remus knew, Lily still detested James.

'What's all this jealously all of a sudden?' Remus asked himself as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. He was looking a bit pale and peaky. A full moon was approaching in nine days time. A constant looming threat where Remus was concerned. 'Just remember, you were the one who dumped her. No one to blame but yourself, buddy. No one made you do it.' Yet that thought didn't seem to be quite satisfying. He had lost Lily unjustly, been blinded by his jealousy when James had snatched her right out of Remus's very grasp. Remus had over-reacted.

'No one goes to a bloody ball with their boyfriend, then spends an hour dancing with his best mate!' Remus thought furiously. But who could blame her? Remus was simply a dismal dancer, and after Mrs. Potter had forced James to take dance lessons, he had transformed into an excellent dancer. It was a choice that anyone could blindly make if they just wanted to have a bit of fun.

"Whatever. What's done is done." Remus muttered sourly.

"That's the spirit. Those who dwell on the past are likely to miss out on the future." A familiar voice came from the door of the circular dormitory. Sirius entered, his face red and wind-beaten.

"Where have you been?" Remus asked, looking away from the mirror to see Sirius.

"I was on a walk with Candace." Sirius grinned. "What's up? Not resorting to talking to the mirror again, are we? Blimey, didn't think we were that close to a full moon." Sirius teased.

"Well, when no one's around it's not too bad talking to ones reflection." Remus said rather seriously.

"Whoa...Moony...I was kidding about that last one." Sirius said in a rather worried tone, but then broke and grinned. "You could always go downstairs and talk to Bianca. Poor little beauty is sitting down there reading Shakespeare. Perhaps you ought to go rescue her, dear Romeo." Sirius joked.

"Sirius, can we be serious for one second?" Remus asked, standing up from his four poster as Sirius entered further into the room, making his way to his own bed.

"Impossible." Sirius answered simply, as he tossed his cloak onto his trunk in a dismissive manner.

"OK. Then I suppose talking to you is as good as talking to my own reflection. But at least you give feedback. So, have any tips for me to get Bianca to go out with me? Even on one date?" Remus asked hopefully.

Sirius hesitated. Something told him that Bianca wasn't what Remus was thinking about when he entered the room. And why would Remus want Sirius to be serious if it was simply about Bianca. Something else was up. Sirius would get to the bottom of it. He was certain about it. "Not sure I'm the right person to ask, mate." Sirius responded truthfully.

"Why not? You and Candace just hooked up." Remus pointed out, taking a seat once again on his four poster.

"Wasn't my doing. I mean, I asked her out, but well...never mind." Sirius said, veering off of the topic. He had, as of late, decided that his little trade-off with Lily would be kept a secret. And he would tell her not to open her mouth about it the minute she got back to school. Neither Candace or James would be very pleased if they discovered their best mate was making deals with their objects of affection, whether it was for a good purpose or not. James probably wouldn't get too mad, but Candace would be infuriated to know that Sirius only asked her out because he had to keep his end of the deal with Lily.

Sure as hell he was glad he had asked Candace out. He felt like the luckiest guy alive. But it had taken something extra to get him to ask Candace out. Something extra that wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for Lily.

'Why wouldn't I ask her out?' Sirius questioned himself for what seemed like the hundredth time. Getting to call Candace his was a luxury Sirius could have never even prayed for! But perhaps he had feared losing her so much that he felt it wasn't even worth putting himself in that position. And Sirius would be ever fearful that he couldn't make Candace happy.

"Never mind? Never mind what?" Remus asked eagerly. Something was up with Sirius. Remus could sense it in his hesitation. Perhaps Remus wasn't the only one thinking about things that he didn't want to bring to the surface.

"It's nothing, Moony. Can't get into that stuff." Sirius responded, plopping down on his own four poster.

"How come?" Remus asked, watching the way Sirius's eyes seemed to look everywhere in the room but at Remus.

Sirius thought for a second. "Because I love Candace too much to spoil everything." Sirius responded. It seemed as though Remus had managed to corner Sirius into the realm of seriousness.

"Ah...spoil something, would it?" Remus asked, wishing he knew what it was, but backing off. He wouldn't spoil anything for Sirius. Didn't seem as though it was worth Remus knowing.

"So, what are you trying to put behind you today, Moony? Because I know it has nothing to do with Bianca." Sirius said, finally looking at Remus rather then a spot on the wall he had chosen for himself.

"The whole Halloween Ball." Remus admitted grudgingly.

"It was all just bad luck. You're right to try and let go of it." Sirius said with a small look of understanding painted across his handsome face.

"I know, Padfoot. Just wish it was that easy to just forget about it."

"You don't still care about her, do you?" Sirius asked, running a hand through his long black hair that was blown askew in the windy day.

"Nah. At least I don't think so." Remus sighed. Things were going to get difficult. He always found things went wrong whenever he thought about his feelings too much.

"I don't see how the two of you ever worked." Sirius responded truthfully. "I know you had the Prefect connection thing, but other then that... It seemed to me like it was all physical attraction." Sirius sighed. Did he dare to ask? Of course he did! He wanted to know! "So...what was the whole thing in the sixth year that ended up with Lily and Candace hating each other? Cause I mean, I still haven't heard the whole story."

Remus grinned guiltily. "I knew you would ask eventually. It...I don't even know what I was thinking. Candace wasn't doing so well in Defense Against the Dark Arts, so I told her she could stay after class with me and I would help her out. Nothing was intended by it either...it just happened.

"She was trying to do the knee-reversing hex on me, and instead of actually performing the spell, it blasted me off my feet and sent me flying into the filing cabinets. I think I was out cold for a couple of minutes, and when I woke up, Candace was hovering over me looking all worried and then it just got out of hand. After about ten minutes, we both freaked out, realized that we were playing with fire and left, but she had taken my wand on accident, so she came up here to give it to me.

"When she walked in the door, she kind of tripped over her own feet, and I caught her so she wouldn't fall on her face or something, and it got a bit carried away from there. Then Lily walked in. And you have never seen someone that angry. I mean, good lord, it was like World War three..." Remus said, shaking his head slightly. "It was stupid...it was wrong. I never should have let anything get that out of hand. Talk about ridiculous. It was even more ridiculous that Lily didn't dump me, though. She should have sent me packing. I didn't deserve her. But for some reason it didn't seem like she could.

"So she insisted on blaming it all on Candace, and being the ass I was, I didn't object. She blew it way out of proportion about how Candace acted, and the two began fighting every time they saw each other and in the end, they just started hating each other. I was amazed to see the two on friendly terms at the beginning of this year." Remus said truthfully.

Sirius watched Remus, listening patiently to his story. "Moony, Moony, Moony." Sirius said, shaking his head gently. "Oh well, guess you learn from your mistakes, dontcha, buddy?" Sirius grinned, fishing through his trunk for a change of clothes. His shirt was soaked from the snow, and he thought his socks would never again be dry. Yet instead of finding his lucky pair of socks, his hands hit a hard leather bound book. A grin spread across Sirius's face, for he knew exactly what this book was.

"Blimey, didn't know I still had this." Sirius grinned, pulling the book out. He flipped it open to the first page.

"Is that...no way!" Remus grinned, getting up and taking a seat on Sirius's bed so he could look at the book as well.

"I swear, that from this day on, friends will come before girls. Whether the specimen be friendly, attractive, a good kisser, or what not, the Marauders will forever remain the number one priority, and if the friendly/attractive/good kisser specimen of a woman doesn't like this, then we will send her packing. Dating a friendly/attractive/good kisser specimen of a woman that one of the other Marauders has fallen for is not right or ethical. Four for us, and four for all! Signed- Moony Remus Lupin, Wormtail Peter Pettigrew, Padfoot Sirius Black, Prongs James Potter." Sirius read aloud, a grin spread across his face.

"Sadly I can even remember signing that." Remus grinned. First day back in the third year. Whose idea was this?" Remus asked as he re-read the pact signed on the first page, scrawled in James' handwriting.

"Prongs. He did it because I spent the entire summer with that blonde girl Veronica and blew the rest of you off." Sirius grinned mischievously. Sirius turned the page and barked out a laugh as he read the contents. "It's your list of every girl you've liked from third year to probably halfway through sixth..." Sirius laughed. They had all agreed that each month they would write down each girl they had liked for later reference. Whether it be blackmail, or proof to whatever girl it was that they had liked her for ages. "Let's see, in the third year, you liked Alice Trent for two months in a row, then Megan Shanker...oh not Megan Shanker!" Sirius groaned with a grin. "Honestly, I think that girl had a sex change three years ago...why else would she look so much like a man?"

Remus laughed slightly, and continued to read the rest of his list aloud. "Harmony...good god, not her! Alena Feild, Alena Feild, Alena Feild, Alena Feild...wow. I liked Alena Feild for eight months in a row. That about sums up the third year... Fourth year it was Bianca for the month of September, Alena Feild again for the rest of the year. Man...why didn't you ever tell me I was too obsessed with her?" Remus grinned.

"Trust me. I tried." Sirius laughed. "Let's look at Wormtail's, shall we?" Sirius grinned, turning the page. "At least we were rather dedicated to filling this out each month. Makes things a lot more interesting. Ah...Wormtail." Sirius grinned. "What have we here...poor fellow didn't like anyone all of the third year. Fourth year...man, he's liked Harmony since the fourth year...look at that. Every single month! Poor sad little fellow..." Sirius chuckled. "She's a head case if I ever saw one myself." He turned the page only to see a rather extensive list of names that could only belong to someone like Sirius.

"Jeez, Padfoot! You liked at least six girls each month!" Remus laughed incredulously. "Not even worth reading that list. I bet every girl in the school is on here! Let's see...you liked Alena Feild too!"

"I went out with her in the fifth year, remember?" Sirius grinned. "She was a good girlfriend. Never unwilling to find a nice cozy broom closet...the one on the seventh floor was our favorite though." Sirius grinned mischievously once again. "Oh...look at that! I even liked Lily for a month in the third year. Along with Alice Trent...forgot I had liked her too, and Molly Reid, that Hufflepuff girl who was a year younger then us, Morgan Hendricks, and Ashley Arvin. Ah...she was almost expelled for doing a bit of magic over the summer, remember? And Emily Larson...man I really liked her but she was all ga-ga over James. Pity...he's always been into Lily." Sirius grinned. "Well, an epic tale it is to read all these names, might as well flip the page to dear Prongs, shall we?" Sirius said jovially. Though as he flipped the page a rather interesting sight greeted his eyes.

"Jeez...." Remus muttered as he looked down at James' list. "No wonder Prongs was always real offensive about us reading his. We would have all thought he was obsessed."

"Who could blame us?" Sirius asked. "Third year. September- Lily Evans, October- Lily Evans, November- Lily Evans, December- Lily Evans, January- Lily Evans, February- Lily Evans March- Lily Evans... and it keeps going and going. He hasn't liked another girl since we started this whole thing." Sirius said in awe. He knew James had been crazy for Lily ever since the second year, but perhaps maybe the appearance of another girl's name every now and then shouldn't have been so uncommon. Yet the only name on that page was Lily Evans.

"I didn't think he liked her that much! I thought he was just infatuated. I thought he would get over it." Remus said with a slight shrug, though something was nagging the back of his mind. The name Lily Evans kept flashing in his eyes as he stared down at the ink, her name written for over fifty months in a row.

"Our poor obsessive little Prongs. And everyone thinks I'm the one getting stuck up on girls.

"Yeah..." Remus said absentmindedly, still staring down at the page as if there was a lot more to read then Lily Evans. Remus flipped back to his page. Sixth year began as- September- Lily Evans, October- Lily Evans and Candace Daily...man...Lily and Candace each month until about halfway through the year when Candace's name disappeared. If he had liked her so much, why didn't he just go out with her and leave Lily to James? Things weren't that simple though, and Lily was leaning toward Remus at the time. She had returned his affection when Candace really hadn't at first. Not until... Remus sighed. He really hated thinking about what he felt. But perhaps if he learned to deal, things wouldn't be as complicated in the future.

Why hadn't James told Remus that he cared about Lily so much? Well...then again, he sort of had. Why didn't Remus listen? Why were so many questions exploding in Remus's mind? Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

I broke the pact. Remus thought, his stomach dropping. I was the first one to break it and I was too blind to realize. God, what an ass I am!

Sirius fell silent. He knew what Remus was thinking. And it wasn't too pleasant in Sirius's opinion. Especially to someone like Remus who liked to think that everything was always under control. But in the last two years, Remus had spun completely out of control. He had totally changed from when he had been awarded Prefect-ship.

Then again change isn't always bad. One could learn from change...perhaps Remus was just out to learn a lesson. Well, I hope he learns it. Whenever Moony's confused you know the world is doomed... Sirius mused.

-----------------------

The rest of the break passed in a flash, and the next thing Lily knew she was snapping her trunk shut, and lugging it down the stairs into her living room. What an eventful break it had been! School as Lily had known it wouldn't be the same when she got back. No...not since she fell for James Potter.

"Come on in and get something to eat before you leave." Lily's mother called from the kitchen. Lily waited at the foot of the steps while James came down, and once he had set his trunk by the door, she entered the kitchen with him. They took a seat at the table, and began to eat the breakfast Lily's mother had whipped together. James was fearful that he had gotten too used to Lily's mother's cooking, and when he got back to school he could possibly be disappointed. Not that the school house elves weren't good cooks, they just weren't as excellent as Lily's mother.

"You two almost finished?" Lily's father asked as he hurried into the kitchen. "We have to get going. I'll load the car. Just be ready when I get back."

Lily finished the rest of the food, then picked her plate up and placed it in the sink. James followed suit, and after a back breaking hug from Joan for both Lily and James, they started out the door and into the car. They sped off toward the King Cross station, and ten minutes later their trunks had been loaded on to trolleys, and Lily's father was saying goodbye outside the barrier of Platform 9 3/4.

"Have a good term!" He called as Lily and James disappeared into the barrier.

"Well...let's get our stuff on, shall we?" Lily asked with a smile as they removed their trunks from the trolleys and started toward the Head Boy, Head Girl compartment. They opened the door to find it sparkling clean, and placed their trunks on the luggage racks above. Only this time when Lily and James sat down, they didn't take seats opposite each other. They sat on the same bench, Lily's head rested comfortably on James' shoulder. They sat in silence as the train departed the station, and neither of them spoke for at least fifteen minutes.

"I'm glad you came with me." Lily said quietly after a length of time.

James' stomach did a back flip. She had enjoyed his company. She had enjoyed his company! She didn't loathe him, she didn't despise him, she didn't wish death upon him over everything else... "I'm glad I came too." James said simply, feeling that speaking his every thought at the moment wouldn't be exactly wise.

Lily looked up at James and smiled, very content sitting there with him in his arms. James leaned down and kissed her gently, simply brushing his lips against hers before pulling away. Lily blushing slightly, reached her arm around to the back of James head, pulling him back toward her kissing him again, this time opening her mouth slightly allowing James to deepen the kiss, an invitation in which he gladly took.

Minutes later, they broke apart, and James pulled Lily a bit closer to him, taking a deep breath. It was time to say it. He had been planning it the whole previous night, which was why he hadn't gotten much sleep. He didn't want to mess things up. He wanted to make them better. And the only way he could do it was if he planned every word carefully.

"Hey, Lily..." He said softly, getting her attention. She looked up at him with a small smile to show she was listening. "After everything that happened over break, one could assume that we were...more then friends so to say, but usually dangerous things happen when I assume things so...will you...er...be my girlfriend?" James asked. It had never come out so awkward when he had asked her out all those many times. Why did it then when he was the closest he had ever been in his life to saying that Lily was his?

He held his breath. He could do nothing but expect Lily to say no. She had said no mercilessly so many times before. This could possibly be the same. How James would die if it was. It could make or break everything...

Lily smiled in response, and kissed James gently. "Yes," She said simply, and even as she said it, she was amazed that she had. Though nothing in the world would make her change her mind. She had fallen for James Potter. And by god, let the world know it!

* * *

Remember everyone, review! Reviews make me write faster, and I need to get my butt kicked into shape! grins 


	23. The Pride of a Muggleborn

Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I've gotten completely swallowed in Role-playing and I'll admit it! I have my own site going and all, so I've really been into that. I'm sorry! Oh...and fanfiction didn't want to work for me whenever I tried to upload this, so that caused some further delay. But fear not! I haven't forgotten about this story!

Chapter Twenty-Three

The Pride of A Muggleborn

The train arrived at the station hours later, and soon they were filing into the Great Hall for the Welcome Back feast. Lily was a bit happy to be back, and relieved that she wouldn't have to deal with Petunia and her oaf sized boyfriend Vernon anymore. What a sickly couple those two were. Lily knew one thing was for sure. If the two were going to get married, count Lily out of attending the wedding.

She and James held hands as they entered the Great Hall, but through all the hustle and bustle of people, no one really seemed to notice.

"Lily!" A voice called blissfully. Lily turned to see Candace hurrying into the Great Hall toward her.

"Hey Candace! Did you have a good break?" Lily asked with a smile. James broke off, gave her a small wave and departed when he caught sight of Sirius and Peter entering the Great Hall.

"Did I ever! And...you'll never guess. Sirius finally asked me out!" Candace gushed. A grin spread across Lily's face. So Sirius had followed through on his end of the deal. But Lily knew that if Candace ever knew that Lily had made that deal with him...Oh boy, things would not be good. Plus the fact that Candace would probably never talk to Lily again.

"He did?" Lily asked, making her best attempt at looking shocked beyond belief that he had actually asked her.

Candace raised her eyes, and Lily realized she might have been a bit overly dramatic. "Something tells me you knew." Candace said, hands falling upon her hips.

Lily's mind reeled. 'Yes Candace. I knew. Sirius somehow forced me, his skill and ability to do so still amazes me, but he got me to take James home with me for the break. But he was decent enough to let me make my terms which were, The only way I will take James Potter home for the break with me is if you ask Candace out. So that is how I knew.' Somehow the idea of even saying such a thing wasn't too inviting.

"He told me before I left on break." Lily resorted to, keeping a straight face for once.

Candace's face fell. "And you didn't tell me? I thought you were my friend, Lily!" She said, her mouth agape.

"But it made so much better of a surprise, didn't it?" Lily grinned falsely, hoping to god that Candace wouldn't see through her.

"Guess so." Candace grinned, dropping into a seat at the Gryffindor table. "How was your break with James? It wasn't too bad was it?" She teased, as if thinking that Lily's break had been nothing short of torture.

"You know, it really wasn't that bad." Lily grinned. But she wasn't going to stop there. How could she? She was a seventeen year old girl talking to her best friend. How could she stop there? "It was great actually." She grinned. She would have dropped her voice to tell the rest, but the volume in the Great Hall didn't make it necessary to.

"Great?" Candace asked, her face splitting into another smile, her dimples shining. "Go on." She said, scooting closer to hear every word that escaped Lily's mouth.

"Oh Candace, it was awesome!" Lily finally gushed. "First night we were there I took him down to Muggle London...it was the cutest thing I've ever seen! He was so fascinated by all the Muggle toys and everything electronic and..." Lily sighed. "Then on Christmas Eve I got in the worst fight with Petunia, evil wench she is...but I could hardly care. I got really upset and ran outside into the small village just south of my house and it was so quiet and snowing gently and all...."

Candace simply grinned as she heard Lily's story. It was almost as if the impossible had happened! Lily was gushing about her Christmas vacation with James!

"And James followed me out there and...and he kissed me!" Lily finished with a sigh. "Then on Christmas he gave me a bouquet of white lilies, and he gave my mum a rose! Can you believe that! But it was like from that point on all we did was...well...kiss. And my mum walked up on us this one time...it was so embarrassing, but turned out to be really funny in the end..." Lily sighed.

Candace giggled. "Lily...I never thought I would say it, but you are so stuck on him." She shook her head.

"Well I should be." Lily said with a smile. The end of the story was coming. And she could almost see the look of disbelief on Candace's face. "He's my boyfriend."

Candace dropped the flask of pumpkin juice she was holding, and the orange liquid proceeded to stain the tablecloth, but Candace paid no attention to it. "You....Lily! I can't believe it!" Candace said, though her face split into a grin as she tossed a napkin onto her mess.

"He asked me out again on the train and for once I said yes." Lily smiled. But she had had enough with the gossip for then. She had at least told someone about her lovely break. She was now free to eat with a renewed vigor. But where was James? She wheeled around in her seat looking for him only to see head nor hide of her boyfriend. James....her boyfriend. She never thought she would have gotten such a kick out of saying that.

---------------------------------

Wind whipped through James' hair as the four Marauders sat out on the sloping grounds of Hogwarts, eating their way through delicacies Sirius had nicked from the kitchens moments before. His thoughts were running wild inside his head, almost as if they were being thrown about in the nighttime breeze. He wished he was in the Great Hall with Lily, but at the same time, he had seen so little of his three best mates that he couldn't help but not miss Lily too much.

"So, Prongs. How was break with Evans?" Sirius grinned, a slight feeling of pride swelling inside him as the thought that he was the one who set the two up for the break floated across his mind.

James, one who usually gave little detail answered simply in response, "Swell." He said, grinning slightly for he knew Sirius would desire more detail then simply 'swell'.

"Swell? And?" Sirius pushed, just as James knew he would.

"Well...overview would be I kissed her Christmas Eve, her mum caught us snogging in her backyard on Christmas, and oh, she's my girlfriend now." James grinned.

"I was being serious, Prongs." Sirius said, shaking his head in amusement as he reached into his basket extracting a large pasty.

"As was I." James grinned.

"You and Lily?" Peter asked, biting into a large piece of fudge cake.

"Me and Lily." James sighed happily, falling back to lay on the grass, not caring about the water that was seeping into his robes from all of the melted snow.

The pride inside Sirius doubled. "You actually hooked up? You're not just pulling my leg?" Sirius asked, grinning like a fool before taking a large bite out of his pasty.

"Now when have I ever pulled your leg, Padfoot?" James smiled.

"Should I answer that question honestly?" Sirius asked as he removed a large bottle of firewhiskey from his bag, taking a deep swig from it.

"Drinking? Padfoot, I'm ashamed of you!" James grinned, grabbing the bottle from Sirius, taking a drink himself. "Oh yeah, I got Lily into a bar too. That Muggle stuff is junk compared to this, though." James said, passing the bottle to Remus who had been rather quiet most of the time. Remus took a sullen swig, then passed it to Peter.

"Aw, no drinks for Wormtail! The light weight gets smashed off of two sips!" Sirius grinned, making an attempt to wrench it away from Peter who defiantly took a sip. Though neither Sirius nor Peter seemed to take notice of Remus's sudden silence, James did.

"You don't mind about me and Lily, do you?" James asked, believing strongly that that was the cause of Remus's silence. "Because I'll break up with her if you don't like it." James said regrettably, hoping to god he wouldn't have to stick to his word if Remus really didn't like it.

"No, Prongs. I'm not upset by that. And if I were I would have absolutely no right to be. Padfoot and I found this a couple of days ago." Remus said, handing the large leather bound book to James. James took it in his hands, and pulled his wand out.

"Lumos!" James said as he began reading the first page. "You still have this?" James grinned, looking at Sirius. "Can't believe we ever wasted our time to fill this out!"

"That's not the point, Prongs. You've liked Lily since the second year, and I still went out with her. It was the lowest thing I ever could have done. Then getting angry at you like I did on Halloween... Put simply, I'm sorry."

James shook his head. "Don't be. Never should have made that pact thing in the first place. It was only to keep him in line." James said, jabbing a finger at Sirius.

"Don't look at me!" Sirius said in a horrible attempt to look innocent as he took another swig of firewhiskey.

--------------------

"Have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"About the Head Boy and the Head Girl! They're going out!"

"What? Lily? And James? No way! She would never!"

"But it's true! That's what I heard at least!"

"Who told you?"

"Alena."

"And who told her?"

"Harmony. And she's dorm mates with Lily's best friend Candace!"

Things flashed around the school the next day about Lily and James, and by the morning break, it seemed that everyone knew about them.

"This is ridiculous." Lily muttered quietly to Candace during passing period. "How could everyone have found out so fast?"

"Could it help that I made a public announcement about it in the dormitory?" Candace asked with a grin.

"With Harmony in there? Then, yes." Lily said grimly as people bumped passed her in the corridor. They stepped into the Entrance Hall, and made their way out onto the grounds toward their Care of Magical Creatures lesson, at the border of the forest. Amazingly, as punctuality was never an attribute that Candace had possessed, and an attribute Lily never possessed when in the presence of Candace, they were the first two waiting out on the grounds for lessons to begin.

"Oh no! I've forgotten my book!" Candace said, her face widening in panic. She tore off across the grounds and back into the school.

"Well, that's why she's never on time." Lily mumbled to herself, as she waited alone in the slight breeze, drawing her robes closer to her in the chill of the morning.

She heard a rather unpleasant snickering, and turned to see a band of Slytherins crossing the grounds toward Lily. Of course. They had class with her. So pleasant it had been to forget. And much to her luck the group of Slytherins consisted of Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape, Crabbe, Goyle, Bellatrix, and Narcissa Black. Quite the group. Lily's favorite people.

"What are you doing here all alone, Evans?" Bellatrix sneered, her lip curling under heavily lidded eyes.

"Poor lost little mudblood. The pound is that way, don't get lost." Narcissa said, receiving some appreciative guffaws from the rest of the Slytherins.

"I'm hurt by your witty repartee, Black. Honestly, I am." Lily snapped in response. Lovely way she could say one surname and it would address both ridiculous little cronies.

"I hear Potter spent the break at your house, Evans. As if your mudblood infested shack doesn't smell enough." Lucius Malfoy smirked, receiving more laughs from Crabbe and Goyle in particular.

"I don't know, after living with mudbloods...oh, and being one herself, maybe she just got used to the stench." Narcissa said with a shriek of laughter.

"It's pretty strong from where I'm standing. Perhaps a gas mask might do well if we could get one." Malfoy laughed.

"I hear that at the Malfoy Manor you have over fifty house elves, am I right?" Lily asked, a look of disgust upon her face.

"Yeah, that's right. Sixty three to be exact," Malfoy said with a cocky grin.

"Did your parents hire one in specific to wipe off the shit that comes out of your mouth?" Lily asked, cocking her head to the side as she watched Malfoy's eyes.

His eyes narrowed as he cast a stony glare back at Lily. "Better watch it, Evans. Or I'll..."

"Curse me into oblivion? Honestly, Malfoy. That doesn't scare anyone anymore. Especially after you got such a bad grade on your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. And to think you actually passed the fifth year. You amaze me every day, Malfoy." Lily sneered furiously. She was so sick of them! She had taken too much from them for the last six and a half years. It was oh so satisfying to take a peek into his O.W.L. grades when she had been sorting them on Prefects duty the previous year to find that he had barely scraped passed as well.

"Filthy mudblood. Noble Gryffindor, Head Girl, Dumbledore's pet...must feel real special, huh Evans?" Mafloy asked. "Well, once we're out of Hogwarts, you'll be singing a different tune. Everyone will be." Malfoy snapped. Bellatrix hissed something in Lucius's ear after giving him a painful elbow in the ribs making Lily slightly suspicious. What were they up to? They HAD been a bit too happy ever since they good back from break. Way too happy if you asked Lily. And a bit too smug for their own good.

"I might actually be intimidated if I ever thought you would graduate. But even if you do graduate, what will you be? I don't think you even scraped enough O.W.L.'s to be a waiter at the Three Broomsticks. Even they have job requirements. And having the intellect of a troll won't look too good on your job resume, now will it?" Lily snapped in response, casting aside her queries about the odd whisper in Malfoy's ear.

By then more people had arrived at class, and as they did, they formed a circle around Lily and the Slytherin's to watch, some of them watching wide eyed, others laughing appreciatively as certain remarks were passed.

"You're gonna learn when to keep your mouth shut, mudblood!" Lucius Malfoy growled, pulling his wand out of the pocket of his robes. Lily refused to push it any further. He could hex her if he would, but she wouldn't send a hex back. She wasn't going to fall to the methods of James Potter...then again James hadn't done something like that for a long while, as Lily could recall.

"Furnunculus!" A voice came from outside the circle. And in came James Potter. Lily's heart did a back flip as James stepped in front of her. "I don't think she's going to." James sneered as boils began to sprout all over Malfoy's face, and hands. Any skin visible through the school robes for that matter.

"Ah, gentlemen," Sirius called jovially as he entered the center ring. "And ladies." He said, nodding at his cousins who glared at him in response. "Love that family warmth and love here." Sirius said as a side comment motioning toward Narcissa and Bellatrix. "When are we going to learn that verbal abuse gets us nowhere? Fighting's the only way to handle things now." Sirius grinned, spinning his wand like a baton in his hand.

"How touching. Evans can't fight her own battles, and her boyfriend and his side kick have to step in to help." Snape sneered.

"Silencio!" Sirius called on demand. "Shut up, Snivelly. No one likes to hear you talk. Not even them." He said, motioning to the group of Slytherins.

"Densuago!" Bellatrix aimed at her cousin with a gleam of hatred in her eyes.

"Protego!" Sirius called in response, blocking the spell just in time to send it spiraling back at Bellatrix, hitting her square in the face causing her front teeth to enlarge grotesquely.

Hexes and curses began to fly all over the place. Even a couple of innocent bystanders were struck and became the victims of grotesque effects from the vile spells sent their way. Several times Lily muttered the counter-curse to the hexes that Sirius and James were hit with. Yet after minutes of calls and shouts, no one was getting anywhere. Everyone involved in the fight were just beginning to look more and more grotesque.

"Oh, move over!" Lily finally growled, whipping her wand out of her pocket.

It was a tale the Gryffindor seventh years couldn't stop laughing about for hours.

"I can't believe you actually hexed them, Lily!" Candace said incredulously. "And that I missed it all." Sirius wiped the tears from his eyes. It had been more then he could handle.

"It was great. Totally priceless." He laughed from where he sat on one of the couches in the Common Room, arm around Candace affectionately.

"I'm more worried about the fifty points I lost." Lily said sullenly looking into the fire.

"Don't worry about it. I've lost more points then I could ever hope to count." James laughed, taking a seat next to Lily.

"Well, you like causing trouble. I don't. I usually get pushed into it somehow." Lily sulked.

"Excuse me, Miss. Oh Move Over. No one pushed you into casting the Bat-Bogey hex on six innocent Slytherin's. Prongs and I could have very well taken over from that point on." Sirius grinned teasingly at Lily.

"You're not the only ones with pride." Lily snapped irritably, finally turning to look at James and Sirius. "I'm not going to let you fight my battles for me. You go pick your own. But honestly, if you bring this up ever again I might strangle you." Lily said seriously.

"Don't want people to know that you resort to the ethics of the Marauders?" Sirius grinned. "It's all right. It's a form of entertainment around here."

"Not in my opinion." Lily snapped, folding her arms across her chest in annoyance. "Fighting is a disgusting form of entertainment if you ask me."

"No one did, sweet pea." Sirius grinned, pulling a silent Candace closer to him.

"Sirius, you do know how much of a pain in the ass you are, don't you?" Lily asked with a slight smile, unable to not be entertained by him.

"I live to be one, Miss Evans." Sirius said jovially.

Lily checked the clock on the wall, and jumped slightly. "James...we have rounds." She said, standing up from the couch.

"I hate rounds." James said with a grin, though he didn't have rounds in mind for that night.

"Who wouldn't? I mean, strolling around after curfew with your girlfriend really eats away at a guy, doesn't it?" Sirius joked, a steely glint in his eye as he managed to pull Candace even closer. It was lucky all the younger students had gone to bed. Lily feared she might have had to tell them off for public displays of affection if there had been first and second years lurking about the Common Room.

"Come on." Lily said, taking James by the hand pulling him toward the portrait hole, stepping out into the rather chilly corridors. From there they strolled in silence, hands firmly clasped together.

They rounded the bend of a particularly quiet corridor where not even a breath of wind passed through, causing a grin to spread across James' face. The perfect spot.

He stopped and pushed Lily to the wall, pressing his lips to hers. Lily's eyes widened in shock, but she couldn't help but not protest as he deepened the kiss. But after a while she couldn't help but push him away, her Head Girl duties still in mind.

"James." Lily giggled. "What if we get caught?"

"Who wanders around the corridors at this hour other then us?" James laughed in response, but he took Lily's words to heart, and stepped away from the wall freeing her.

"Well, apparently McGonagall knew when we weren't at rounds." Lily said pointedly.

"I hate it when you're right about things like this," James grinned, taking her hand in his. But as they made their way down the corridor (and seemingly closer to a vacant broom cupboard) it became increasingly difficult for Lily to resist.

"Oh, forget about this," She grinned, twisting the doorknob to the broom cupboard open, pushing James inside. James couldn't help but grin as he took Lily into his arms, kissing her first on the lips, then trailing down to her neck. Lily giggled hopelessly, snaking her arms around James' neck, pulling him closer.

He made his way back up from her neck, to her cheek, and stopped just inches away from Lily's face before kissing her on the lips again. "How did I ever get so lucky?" He whispered to Lily.

"Lucky?" Lily giggled, pulling James into a kiss.

"To be with you," James said after pulling away.

Lily couldn't help but giggle as she planted a kiss on James lips again. "It wasn't luck. You worked the man hours for it, James," Lily finished, running her hands through James wild hair. "How did I ever get so lucky to have a guy like you chase me around for five years?" Lily asked before kissing James once again.

"It was animal magnetism," James joked, gazing down into Lily's vibrant green eyes. Eyes that he had spent so much time staring at longingly, eyes that used to be narrowed in hatred every time he saw her, but eyes that were now sparkling happily as she looked up at him.

"I'm an animal now, am I?" Lily giggled, giving James a soft kiss.

"Only the most beautiful of them all," James said softly in response.

Lily smiled at James in silence before realizing they were supposed to be out on rounds. "C'mon, James," Lily said, pushing the closet door open, pulling him back out into the corridors.


End file.
